These Are The Happiest (& Least Happy) Places In The UK

The Ribble Valley in Lancashire is the happiest place in the UK, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS asked people across the UK to answer the question "how happy did you feel yesterday?" on a scale of 1 to 10, then calculated the average from area to area.

The Ribble Valley, a largely rural area which contains the market town of Clitheroe and the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, came out on top with an average happiness level of 8.30.

The Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland and the cathedral city of Chichester in West Sussex were right behind, both with an average happiness level of 8.29. Check out the top five below:

1. Ribble Valley, Lancashire (8.30)

2. Orkney Islands (8.29)

2. Chichester, West Sussex (8.29)

4. Hambleton, Rutland (8.19)

5. Fylde, Lancashire (8.18)

The average happiness level across the UK was found to be 7.56 – a slight rise from 7.52 the previous year. Surrey Heath was found to be the least happy place in the UK, followed rather surprisingly by South Ribble – an area actually which borders the Ribble Valley.

Check out the five least happy places below.

1. Surrey Heath, Surrey (6.71)

2. South Ribble, Lancashire (7.02)

3. Lincoln, Lincolnshire (7.09)

4. Worcester, Worcestershire (7.14)

5. Norwich, Norfolk (7.15)

The ONS's "Personal well-being in the UK" report, which covers the period from April 2018 to March 2019, also asked people to rate their anxiety on a scale of 1 to 10.

As well as being named the least happy place in the UK, Surrey Heath was found to be the most anxious. Residents there registered an average anxiety score of 3.92 out of 10.

Other areas in the top five for anxiety included Melton in Leicester (3.79), Epsom and Ewell in Surrey (3.69) and the London boroughs of Lambeth (3.67) and Kensington and Chelsea (3.63).

Meanwhile, anxiety levels in Northern Ireland were found to have increased from 2.53 to 2.83 year-on-year – a higher rise in 12 months than anywhere else in the UK.