ISLANDERS feel safer than residents in most other countries but they also work longer and are far less likely to vote, a new report on wellbeing has shown.
The Better Life Index, which was published this week by Statistics Jersey, also showed that life satisfaction had fallen in the Island since 2021.
The index measures the Island’s wellbeing in economic, social, and environmental terms, taking into account how individuals rate their own lives and surroundings.
The framework allows Jersey to be compared across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which ranks 41 different jurisdictions by 11 different standards taking quality of life into account every two years.
The Island ranked 26th overall and was beaten by countries including Israel, Slovakia, Hungary and the UK.
Jersey has fallen two places in the overall rankings since 2021, driven by lower life satisfaction and a high cost of housing.
Continuing a trend of several years, Jersey also had the lowest voter turnout of any of the countries surveyed at 42%, when the average was 70%.
A recent study by a UK University identified voter cynicism, low-quality candidates, and electoral system confusion as some of the key reasons for the Island’s poor turnout.
