Australia’s life dissatisfaction levels double as ‘wellbeing poverty’ reaches new highs

ABS data show one in 10 people are not satisfied with life – but community cohesion and trust lift happiness scores

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Nearly 2.2 million Australians 15 years and older are living below the wellbeing poverty line, with the share of people reporting very low life satisfaction doubling over the past decade.

In 2025, 9.7%, or about one in 10 Australians, rated their general satisfaction with life at four or below out of 10, according to Guardian Australia’s analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’s (ABS) general social survey.