Tasmanians happy, connected and mostly staying put, summer survey reveals

Tasmanians enter 2025 feeling happy, connected and glad to live where they do, the Mercury’s Big Issues summer survey has revealed.

Senior couples posing for stock photos on motor scooters are happy.

Tasmanians enter 2025 feeling happy, connected and glad to live where they do, the Mercury’s Big Issues summer survey has revealed.

This year’s Mercury survey received 3,000 responses over the latter half of December.

The findings will be published in the paper and on the website in the coming weeks.

One of the consistent themes of the five similar surveys done to date is that Tasmanians are a happy bunch.

The 2024 edition reveals that 91.2 per cent of respondents described themselves as happy.

The corresponding figure for the previous year was 92.8 per cent — and five years ago it was 90.1 per cent.

A happy couple riding bicycles outside. Those broad smiles would fit in well in Tasmania.

Hobart stands as a happy city in a generally happy nation.

Australia came in tenth in the World Happiness Index in 2024, happier than New Zealanders but not quite as happy as the Swiss.

Hobart was ranked the world’s 87th-happiest city in 2024 by the global Happy City Index, between Bergen, Norway and Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Of Australian cities, only Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth out-smiled us.

But the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index — which has previously identified Tasmania as the nation’s happiest state — showed in its latest edition that people are increasingly unhappy with as the cost of living bites.

That study refers to the “golden triangle of happiness” being: strong personal relationships, financial security and a sense of purpose in life.

This year’s edition recorded the lowest life satisfaction scores in 41 surveys — largely because of the rising cost of living and noted that overall life satisfactions has declined between 2009 and 2024 — with older and poorer Australians hardest hit.

A woman eating a bowl of salad and being happy about it. Maybe she’s a Tasmanian.

The Big Issues also reveals that Tasmanians are happy where they live — with 87 per cent of respondents saying they prefer living in Tasmania to elsewhere.

But there has been a decline over time, last year and five years ago the figure was 91 per cent.

If reflects a trend being picked up on by the Australian Bureau of Statistics: in the June quarter, Tasmania has recorded the slowest population growth in the nation as the equivalent of a busload of residents leaves each day for interstate.

The state’s population grew by just 0.3 per cent to add 1600 residents in the year to June 30, as negative net interstate migration and a sluggish birthrate were countered only by rising overseas migration.

As befits a generally cheerful state, Mercury readers have revealed themselves to be optimistic about the future: 69 per cent responding positively, slightly down on the 72 per cent last year, but a significant increase on the 59 per cent in 2019.

We feel connected, with 72 per cent of respondents saying they could rely on neighbours for help if they needed to — although that figure is down from 83 per cent last year and 80 per cent five years ago.

Originally published as Tasmanians happy, connected and mostly staying put, summer survey reveals