A new study shows that "life satisfaction" for people in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe peaks at the ages of 15-24 and declines steadily thereafter.
The study in the respected medical journal "The Lancet" showed that "life satisfaction" rates are higest in high-income English-speaking countries.
In such countries people have a "life satisfaction" rating of about 7.5, on a scale of one to 10, when they are 15-24 years old.
Their happiness then declines until the ages of 45-54, when it begins a gradual climb through people's mid-70s.
But the study says that for those in ex-Soviet countries and Eastern Europe, happiness peaks at 6.0 at the ages of 15-24 and then declines throughout life.
Life satisfaction was higher for people in Latin America/Caribbean region than in the ex-Soviet states and Eastern Europe.
