Seoul, March 6 The number of South Koreans who said they felt anxiety and feelings of depression increased last year, while perceptions of happiness differed by income group, a survey result showed on Thursday.
The respondents who said they felt anxiety recorded 4.1 out of 10 points last year, compared with 3.4 points in 2023, and feelings of depression also ticked up from 2.8 points to 3.5 points in the same period, according to the data by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, Yonhap news agency reported.
The survey was conducted on 8,251 adults from August to September last year to investigate the level of social integration and public perception. Public perception of happiness recorded an average of 6.8 points, a 0.1-point increase from the previous year.
At the same time, the lowest income group, with less than 1 million won ($693) in monthly earnings, said they felt happiness decreased by 0.1 points from the year before to 6.0 points, whereas the same rate for the highest income groups with over 6 million won in monthly earnings increased from 6.8 points to 7.0 points last year.
Satisfaction rates for political and economic circumstances in the country rose 0.7 points each from the previous year, recording 5.1 and 5.3 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, people who described their views as moderate recorded 45.2 per cent, nearing half, accounting for the largest percentage among political inclinations, despite its 1.5 percentage-point drop from the year before.
Another 30.2 per cent described themselves as conservatives, whereas 24.6 per cent considered themselves liberals.
Anxiety and depressive disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide. About 284 million people suffer from anxiety disorders, and 264 million people suffer from depressive disorders worldwide, as per data from the journal The Lancet and the World Health Organization (WHO).
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