Londoners 'more anxious and unhappy than rest of UK'

Londoners are more anxious, unhappy and feel less worthwhile and satisfied than the rest of the UK, a study has found.

About 13,500 people rated their responses out of 10 in the four categories for the Office for National Statistics.

The results showed Londoners rated their anxiety levels at 3.3 and happiness at 7.2. The average across the UK was 3 and 7.3.

Action for Happiness said people were currently too focused on income.

The ONS used data from the Annual Population Survey from April 2013 to March 2014 and asked people to rate their responses on a scale of zero to ten with zero being "not at all" and ten being "completely".

The results indicated the age group with the highest anxiety levels in London were those aged 45 to 64, with a score of 3.5, but by the time they were over 65 this dropped to below 3.

Some occupations had an impact on well-being in the capital with residents that were process, plant and machine operatives being the least anxious at 2.8 while those working as managers, directors or in a skilled trade were the happiest at 7.4

Income had some influence on well-being too with residents earning less than £100 a week the most anxious at 3.6 while those earning up to £999 scored 2.9 for anxiety.

Mark Williamson, from Action for Happiness which campaigns for positive social change, said the research showed Londoners priorities were wrong.

He said: "Perhaps the best tip in life is to focus less on 'me'....and focusing more on 'we' and 'How can I contribute more to my community?'."

The data also found that London's black residents were the least satisfied ethnic group, with a rating of 6.8 compared to a London average of 7.3.

But those Londoners were more satisfied and felt more worthwhile than others of the same group across the UK.

The data also found disabled residents nationally had an anxiety score of 4.0, against their non-disabled counterparts.