What's the secret to happiness in life? The answer lies in the statistics | Greg Jericho

According to the figures, Australians are pretty satisfied with our lives. So why do we whinge? Who's doing well? And which groups suffer or are left wanting more?

Australians are a pretty contented bunch. We do grumble a bit, and perhaps are less content with our lot than we should be. Despite being ranked first in the OECD among social and economic indicators, according to stats released last year, we only came 11th on life satisfaction.

This week the Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its latest general social survey which found high levels of satisfaction across almost all households. "Overall life satisfaction is determined by a broad range of factors," the ABS says, the most significant of which are financial stress, unemployment, mental health and sexuality.