MOSCOW, 16 April 2025. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a monitoring study describing the happiness levels in Russia.
The happiness levels have been consistently high; the only thing that has been changing month by month is the percentages of those who are definitely happy and moderately happy. The March survey shows that a total of eight out of ten Russians consider themselves happy, including more than one-third of those who report to be definitely happy (36%). The last time a similar level of happiness was recorded was in June 2024[1]. The March Happiness Index* is 61 p. out of 100 possible points, which is slightly lower than the March 2024 figure (70 p.p.).
As the previous findings suggest, the happiness level is remarkably resilient to external shocks. Looking back on the pandemic, it did not make Russians feel discouraged: in April 2020, soon after the coronavirus restrictions were introduced, the happiness levels were close to the current levels. Moreover, up until the end of 2020 the figure did not drop below 80% even once, which is largely due to Russian strong mental health reserves.
Unlike personal happiness level, perceptions of people around are changeable. In the second half of 2020, Russians were more reserved in assessing the levels of happiness of the people around. In March this year, their opinions divided again (as it was in the same period in 2024): four out of ten respondents said there were more happy people in their circles; the same number of respondents said there were as many happy people as the unhappy ones among their relatives and friends. Currently, Social happiness index** is 58 p., which is slightly higher than it was five years ago (54 p.p. in April[2] 2020).
An error of approximately +/- 1-2 percentage points is possible due to rounding to calculate indices.
* Happiness index shows how happy Russians feel. The Index is based on the question: “Life is full of good and bad moments. But in general, are you happy or not?”. It is calculated as the difference of the sum of positive answers (“definitely yes”, “rather yes”) and negative answers (“rather no”, “definitely no”). The index is measured in points and ranges from -100 to 100. The higher the index, the happier Russians feel.
** Social index of happiness shows if there are more happy or unhappy people around. The index is based on the question: “In your opinion, are there more happy or unhappy people among your relatives and friends? The answer “more happy people” corresponds to the coefficient 0.9; “equally happy and unhappy people”, 0.5; “more unhappy people”, 0.1. The index is measured in points and ranges from 10 to 90. The higher the index, the happier Russians are viewed by other Russians.
All-Russian VCIOM-Sputnik telephone survey was conducted March 26, 2024. A total of 1,600 respondents aged 18 and older took part in the survey.Survey method: telephone interview, stratified random sample based on a complete list of mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted for socio-demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias intothe survey.
Key effectiveness indicators, survey of March 26, 2024:cooperation rate(CR)* =0.7761;minimum response rate(MRR)** =0.0173;response rate(RR)*** =0.1338. Calculations are based on corporate standardhttps://profi.wciom.ru/principy_standarty/korporativnyj-standart-po-izmereniyu-rezultativnosti-oprosov-sputnik-vciom/
* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.
** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.
** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference thatthe number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.
Definitely yes | Rather yes | Rather no | Definitely no | Don’t know | Happiness index | |
VI.1990 | 5 | 39 | 22 | 5 | 29 | 17 |
V.1991 | 8 | 52 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 31 |
II.1992 | 2 | 40 | 31 | 5 | 22 | 6 |
II.1998 | 16 | 44 | 19 | 6 | 15 | 35 |
III.2008 | 22 | 55 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 62 |
III.2009 | 19 | 50 | 16 | 5 | 10 | 48 |
IX.2009 | 19 | 53 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 51 |
III.2010 | 20 | 52 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 55 |
IX.2010 | 14 | 56 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 48 |
IV.2011 | 19 | 48 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 42 |
IX.2011 | 15 | 51 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 41 |
IV.2012 | 21 | 56 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 59 |
IV.2013 | 23 | 54 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 59 |
IV.2014 | 25 | 53 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 64 |
XI.2014 | 25 | 51 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 59 |
III.2015 | 29 | 51 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 64 |
X.2015 | 39 | 44 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 70 |
IV.2016 | 39 | 44 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 68 |
XI.2016 | 32 | 49 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 66 |
IV.2017 | 39 | 46 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 72 |
VII.2017 | 38 | 47 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 72 |
III.2018 | 34 | 49 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 73 |
XI.2018 | 34 | 50 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 71 |
IV.2019 | 35 | 51 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 75 |
XI.2019 | 34 | 47 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 64 |
IV.2020 | 34 | 47 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 67 |
XI.2020 | 31 | 50 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 66 |
III.2021 | 36 | 44 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 64 |
XI.2021 | 35 | 49 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 71 |
III. 2022 | 37 | 46 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 68 |
X.2022 | 35 | 46 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 66 |
10. III. 2023* | 35 | 47 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 68 |
X.2023 | 37 | 44 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 65 |
III. 2024 | 36 | 48 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 70 |
X.2024 | 31 | 48 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 62 |
III. 2025 | 36 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 61 |
More happy people | Almost equally | More unhappy people | Don't know | Social Index of Happiness | |
2011 | 33 | 36 | 24 | 7 | 50 |
2012 | 49 | 33 | 12 | 6 | 62 |
2013 | 42 | 36 | 18 | 4 | 58 |
IV.14 | 45 | 38 | 12 | 5 | 61 |
XI.14 | 45 | 34 | 15 | 6 | 59 |
III.15 | 46 | 35 | 13 | 6 | 60 |
X.15 | 43 | 37 | 12 | 8 | 58 |
IV.16 | 40 | 38 | 15 | 7 | 57 |
XI.16 | 38 | 39 | 14 | 9 | 55 |
IV.17 | 35 | 50 | 12 | 3 | 58 |
VII.17 | 39 | 47 | 11 | 3 | 60 |
XII.17 | 39 | 47 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
III.18 | 40 | 42 | 10 | 8 | 58 |
XI.18 | 32 | 48 | 16 | 4 | 54 |
IV.19 | 32 | 52 | 12 | 4 | 56 |
XI.19 | 31 | 48 | 17 | 5 | 54 |
IV.20 | 33 | 46 | 14 | 7 | 54 |
X.20 | 31 | 47 | 15 | 7 | 53 |
III.21 | 31 | 45 | 16 | 8 | 52 |
X.21 | 30 | 45 | 18 | 7 | 51 |
III.22 | 43 | 40 | 10 | 7 | 60 |
X.22 | 40 | 43 | 11 | 6 | 59 |
10. III. 23* | 42 | 36 | 14 | 8 | 57 |
X.23 | 36 | 46 | 14 | 4 | 57 |
III.24 | 41 | 42 | 10 | 7 | 59 |
X.24 | 37 | 47 | 11 | 5 | 58 |
III.25 | 41 | 39 | 14 | 6 | 58 |
* March 2023 data are of the beginning of the month (10.03), whereas monthly average is available at the website.
** Before 2017, surveys were conducted through household face-to-face interviews (Express project); stratified multi-stage sample, with quotas based on socio-demographic parameters; representative of the Russian population aged 18+, according to type of settlement, gender, age, education and federal district. Sample size: 1,600 respondents.
Author: Lyudmila Bogomazova
[1] Monthly dynamic of the indicator is available at: https://wciom.ru/ratings/indeks-schastja
[2]There was no survey in March 2020.