Most Russians happy, poll reveals

MOSCOW, September 16. /TASS/. As many as 78% of Russians consider themselves rather happy people, but the happiness index hit its lowest values since 2014, according to a poll from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) published on the organization’s website.
“The happiness index of Russians in August 2024 reached its minimum since November 2014 and totaled 60 p.,” the report reads. “Over the past three months, the share of those who consider themselves absolutely happy has decreased (32%) and the share of those who consider themselves rather unhappy has increased (12%),” the pollster revealed.
Almost half (46%) of respondents said they were rather happy.
The data of the daily all-Russian poll VCIOM-Sputnik serves as the foundation for estimating the indices. The index is calculated on the basis of the question “Everything happens in life – both good and bad. But in general, are you happy or not?” and is calculated as the difference between the sum of positive responses (“definitely yes,” “rather yes”) and negative ones (“rather no,” “definitely no”). The index is measured in points and can range from -100 to 100.