France performs very well in many measures of well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks among the top ten countries in several topics in the Better Life Index.
Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In France, the average person earns 27 789 USD a year, more than the OECD average of 22 387 USD a year. But there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn more than four times as much as the bottom 20%.
In terms of employment, some 64% of people aged 15 to 64 in France have a paid job, below the OECD employment average of 66%. Some 68% of men are in paid work, compared with 60% of women. People in France work 1 554 hours a year, less than most people in the OECD who work 1 749 hours. Almost 9% of employees work very long hours, in line with the OECD average, with 12% of men working very long hours compared with 5% for women.
Having a good education is an important requisite for finding a job. In France, 70% of adults aged 25-64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, close to the OECD average of 74%. There is little difference between men and women, as 71% of men have successfully completed high-school compared with 69% of women. In terms of the quality of the education system, the average student scored 497 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), in line with the OECD average. On average in France, girls outperformed boys by 7 points, close to the average OECD gap of 9 points.
In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in France is almost 81 years, higher than the OECD average of 80 years. Life expectancy for women is 85 years, compared with 78 for men. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs –is 13 micrograms per cubic meter, considerably lower than the OECD average of 22 micrograms per cubic meter. France performs somewhat less well in terms of water quality, as 80% of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their water, below the OECD average of 84%.
Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and high levels of civic participation in France, where 92% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91%. Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens’ participation in the political process, was 84% during recent elections, higher than the OECD average of 73%. Social and economic status can affect voting rates; voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is 91% and for the bottom 20% it is 80%, much wider than the OECD average gap of 7% and suggesting there is room for broader social inclusion in France’s democratic institutions
In general, French people are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 83% of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc). This figure is slightly higher than the OECD average of 80%.
The United Kingdom performs very well in overall well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks among the top countries in several topics in the Better Life Index.
Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In the United Kingdom, the average person earns 26 552 USD a year, more than the OECD average of 22 387 USD a year. But there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn six times as much as the bottom 20%.
In terms of employment, over 70% of people aged 15 to 64 in the United Kingdom have a paid job, above the OECD employment average of 66%. Some 75% of men are in paid work, compared with 65% of women. People in the United Kingdom work 1647 hours a year, less than most people in the OECD who work 1749 hours. Almost 12% of employees work very long hours, higher than the OECD average of 9%, with 17% of men working very long hours compared with just 6% for women.
Having a good education is an important requisite for finding a job. In the United Kingdom, 74% of adults aged 25-64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, close to the OECD average. This is truer of men than women, as 77% of men have successfully completed high-school compared with 70% of women. This difference is higher than the OECD average and suggests women’s participation in higher education could be strengthened. In terms of the quality of the educational system, the average student scored 500 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), slightly higher than the OECD average of 497. On average in the United Kingdom, girls outperformed boys by 2 points, less than the average OECD gap of 9 points.
In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in the United Kingdom is 80 years, in line with the OECD average. Life expectancy for women is 82 years, compared with 79 for men. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs –is 13 micrograms per cubic meter, considerably lower than the OECD average of 22 micrograms per cubic meter. The United Kingdom also does well in terms of water quality, as 97% of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their water.
Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and a moderate level of civic participation in the United Kingdom, where 96% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91%. Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens’ participation in the political process, was 61% during recent elections. This figure is lower than the OECD average of 73%. Social and economic status can affect voting rates; voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is 64% and for the bottom 20% it is 51%, broader than the OECD average gap of 7% and suggesting there is room for broader social inclusion in the United Kingdom’s democratic institutions.
In general, people in the United Kingdom are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 85% of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc). This figure is higher than the OECD average of 80%.