Szombathely, the Happiest City in Hungary

Szombathely, in the Western part of the country, is the happiest city in Hungary, followed by Nyíregyháza, according to research conducted on the occasion of World Happiness Day by the Jobb Veled a Világ (The World is Better with You) foundation.

According to an announcement carried by the state news agency MTI, the Positive Psychology Research Group of the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE PPK) led by Professor Attila Oláh, in collaboration with theThe World is Better with You foundation, headed by Bella Bagdi, conducted a survey between April 1, 2020 and March 15, 2021 based on which the Happiness Map 2020-21 was compiled.

One of the characteristics of this period, which affected the whole society, was the appearance of the coronavirus epidemic, therefore the map is a happiness map of Hungary living at the risk of a pandemic, they emphasized.

According to the results, the level of happiness of the Hungarian population decreased minimally compared to the values ​​measured in 2019, but it develops differently by region, county and county seat. Happiness levels decreased significantly in Southern Transdanubia, the Northern Great Plain and Northern Hungary, while they increased in Western Transdanubia and Central Hungary. At the county level, the level of happiness decreased in Hajdú-Bihar, Békés and Somogy counties, while it increased in Bács-Kiskun, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Vas counties.

Among the county seats, Szombathely became the happiest city in Hungary, followed by Nyíregyháza. The level of happiness decreased in Debrecen, Győr and Tatabánya, but it increased significantly in Budapest.