Hungary is a balanced and safe country where people are happy
“Hungary is a balanced and safe country, where people are happy,” said Tünde Fűrész, President of the Mária Kopp Institute at the workshop entitled “The well-being of Hungarians in the past two years”. The institute presented the results of its nationwide representative study, which was conducted between November 2020 and September 2022. The research examined the sense of happiness, safety, health and satisfaction of the Hungarian people, as well as the development of their own affairs, their childbearing and financial situation.
"The government is trying to give families all the support they can, as strong families can build a strong nation", said the Deputy State Secretary for Family Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation (KIM) at the workshop.
Attila Beneda emphasized that the research confirmed that it is not only good but also useful to live in a family, because according to the survey, the difficulties of life are smaller for those living in the family, their level of happiness is higher, their resistance to diseases is stronger, and they heal more easily.
From the point of view of mental health, the government can provide the framework that promotes the well-being of people, especially mothers, since their stability and mental balance have a multiple effect not only on their families, but also on society as a whole, the Deputy State Secretary added.
Among the measures taken by the government, he highlighted the GYED Extra, which allows families to receive this allowance even if both parents work; the Women 40, which allows women to retire after 40 years of service; as well as the family home-creation allowance (csok), which helps families to live in more dignified living conditions.
Tünde Fűrész, President of KINCS, said that it is of strategic importance for a country to create and maintain the happiness and positive well-being of people, which is why two years ago the Well-being Research was launched, which is unique in terms of its length and regularity, as people were asked month after month how happy, satisfied, healthy and how safe they feel.
The research is unique even because during the covered period people were confronted with events that they had not thought of before, such as the coronavirus outbreak, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war or the energy crisis, the President added.
Tünde Fűrész said that it is often heard that Hungarians are pessimistic, gloomy, have a negative sense of well-being, but the research clearly shows that “difficulties or not”, Hungarians are able to survive, are balanced and fundamentally happy, so Hungary is a safe and balanced country.
The survey also showed that the family is a source of happiness, it has a holding power, it provides security and joy in everyday life, so family-friendly governance clearly contributes to the fact that Hungarian families have become spiritually stronger and are able to cope with the obstacles that arise.
The details of the research were presented by András Pári, Head of Research at KINCS and Tímea Nagy, research analyst at KINCS. According to their report, Hungarians have an average of 7.4 on a scale of one to ten, so Hungarians have been fundamentally happy for the past two years.
According to the results, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war did not affect the feeling of happiness, the reopening after the pandemic and the government's family support measures were positive, while the energy crisis changed it in a negative direction.
It can also be seen that the minor child is a real source of happiness, because those raising children under the age of 18 are happier than average, while those without children are more unhappy. According to the survey, Hungarians feel safe, despite the fact that there is a war going on in Ukraine. The feeling of security is also influenced by the financial situation, which shows that the energy price change in 2022 and the increase in the price of food have left a mark on people, while the government measures - cap on gasoline and food prices - have increased the sense of security in society.
The majority of the respondents feel healthy, the feeling of health was at a low point in February 2021, during the quarantine period, then improved thanks to the start of the vaccination, and most of all, people declared themselves healthy in December 2021, presumably due to the quarantine-free celebration. Sense of health is closely related to age, education and child rearing, because the younger a person is and the higher his/her educational attainment, the better he/she values his/her health, and those who raise children under the age of 18 feel extremely healthy.
Hungarians are generally satisfied with the development of their affairs, but the change in the energy price has left its mark on their opinion and influenced most negatively those living in the capital. The respondents rated their satisfaction level on average at 6.8 points. They were least satisfied between January and March 2021, presumably due to the third wave of the epidemic, while they declared themselves the most satisfied in October 2021 when the personal income tax refunds and 13 months' pension were announced.
Similarly to the previous points, the feeling of satisfaction is closely related to the family, those raising small children were the most satisfied among those surveyed, and the level of satisfaction among them reached a record high in April 2021, when kindergartens and schools reopened.
Text used: MTI
