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Hebrides News

lslanders are the happiest people          27/7/12

A new survey smashes the myth that the Western Isles are full of dour, gloomy Presbyterians.

The opposite is fact the truth according to the national well-being survey which discovered that Hebrideans are actually the happiest in the country.

Hellfire and brimstone, which Lowlanders apparently believe is spouted from every pulpit, holds no fear for the majority of islanders who are pretty relaxed about life indicates the survey by the Office for National Statistics.

The official research found that it is actually people in the more enlightened central belt who are a lot more anxious about life and are the least happy in Scotland. Neither do they value the worth of what they do with their lives as much as residents of the Highlands and Islands.

Life in the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland is better and islanders are more content than people living elsewhere confirms the study.

Glenn Everett, Programme Director for Measuring National Well-being Programme said: “By examining and analysing both objective statistics as well as subjective information, a more complete picture of National Well-being can be formed.

“Understanding people's views of well-being is an important addition to existing Official Statistics and has potential uses in the policy making process and to aid other decision making.”

The Measuring National Well-being programme was launched in November 2010 to provide a fuller understanding of how society is doing than simply relying on economic measures.