This new THL wellbeing survey that feelings of loneliness are not as common as often thought. A fifth of respondents to the survey said that they occasionally feel lonely, four-fifths rarely or never. Feelings of loneliness are most in evidence among certain groups - the unemployed, the poor and the elderly who live alone, especially men 85 years of age or older.
THL last carried out a similar survey four years ago. It says in its report that although on average population wellbeing rates higher than then, society has become more sharply divided in terms of quality of life and health.
The survey found that one-tenth of households suffered from financial problems. However, THL notes that this figure did not increase over the past four years, and a decade of growth in income gaps and relative poverty has come to an end.
The economic recession seems to have had little impact of the wellbeing of residents of the country. One difference between the economic depression of the 1990s and the situation today is that rate of unemployment has risen more slowly.
Among the findings were that there is a sharp economic division among households with children. Two-fifths have difficulty making incomes stretch to meet expenses, while another two-fifths have surplus income.
One-third of all mothers and half of all fathers do some overtime work weekly, something that THL says puts pressure on the wellbeing of families. Two-fifths of both mothers and fathers say that they neglect home issues because of their jobs and are concerned about how well they are doing as parents.
For its survey, the National Institute for Welfare and Health THL interviewed 4 226 people over the age of 18 and also drew upon registry data. 372 of those included were over the age of 80.