Woman more likely to feel downhearted or depressed than men, new survey shows

While the numbers reporting high levels of satisfaction with their financial situation were similar across the sexes, more women said they had low levels of satisfaction (27.2%) compared to men (19.9%). File picture

Women are more likely to report feeling downhearted or depressed, with one in five saying they have felt this way at least sometime in the last four weeks compared to just one in 10 men, a new survey has found.

Furthermore, people who rent are less likely to say they are satisfied with their financial situation compared to those who own their own homes, while those in poverty are more likely to feel downhearted or depressed.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the findings as part of its latest Survey on Income and Living Conditions, focusing on the Irish public’s sense of wellbeing across a range of different factors.

Overall, over one in four (26.5%) people report having high levels of satisfaction with their overall life. This was similar to the 26.4% recorded in 2024.

People who are older are more likely to be satisfied with their lives, with more than one-third of those aged 65 and over (36.5%) reporting high satisfaction levels compared to just a fifth (22.1%) of those aged 25 to 49.

“Older respondents were also more likely to report high overall satisfaction with the financial situation of their households at 28.5%, compared with 13.1% of respondents aged 25 to 49 years,” CSO statistician Sarah Crilly said.

“At 18.4%, respondents aged 25 to 49 years had the highest rate of feeling downhearted or depressed at least sometime in the four-week period prior to their interview in 2025. Respondents aged 65 and older had the lowest rate, at 13.0%.” 

There was a marked difference in the scores based on sex in the survey.

The CSO said a higher percentage of female respondents had a low level of satisfaction in their lives compared to men, 12.5% compared to 9.1%. There was similarly a higher proportion of men saying they had high levels of overall life satisfaction at 27.5%, compared to 25.5%.

While the numbers reporting high levels of satisfaction with their financial situation were similar across the sexes, more women said they had low levels of satisfaction (27.2%) compared to men (19.9%).

Women were more likely to feel lonely at least some of the time, as well feeling downhearted or depressed.

And, while 13.7% of 16-24-year-olds said they felt lonely all of the time, this fell to 10.2% for 25-49-year-olds.

The lowest scores for those satisfied with their lives came from people who are unable to work due to long-standing health problems. They rated their life satisfaction at 5.8 on average out of 10, compared to those who are retired (8.0) and students (8.1).

Elsewhere, those who are divorced or separated were more likely to report being less satisfied in life than those who are married, while those who are separated were more likely to say they felt downhearted or depressed.

The CSO added: “People who were in consistent poverty in 2025 (those who were at risk of being poor and who were living in enforced deprivation) were more likely to report feeling downhearted or depressed or lonely.

“Over four in 10 [41.8%] respondents who were living in consistent poverty in 2025 reported feeling downhearted or depressed at least sometimes in the four-week period before their interview date. This compares with 14.6% of respondents who were not living in consistent poverty.”