PEOPLE living in Eastleigh, Winchester, the South Downs and Test Valley are among the happiest in the county, new data shows.

Southampton is on the lower end of the spectrum in happiness levels this year, research from the Office for National Statistics has revealed.

Winchester, Test Valley, Eastleigh and East Hampshire all scored 7.7 out of 10 on the happiness scale.

Whilst the New Forest, Fareham and Havant were slightly lower, at 7.6 out of 10.

Southampton scored 7.4 and Gosport was the unhappiest place in the county, at 7.2.

The new data uses results of a national survey that asked people to rate their own well-being levels.

People were asked to rate their life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety levels of 10 during the year up to March 2022.

The data is based on weighted mean averages, from the Annual Population Survey.

This is the list of Hampshire areas and their happiness levels in the last year:

Winchester - 7.7

East Hampshire - 7.7

Test Valley - 7.7

Eastleigh - 7.7

New Forest - 7.6

Fareham - 7.6

Havant - 7.6

Southampton - 7.4

Basingstoke and Deane - 7.4

Portsmouth - 7.3

Gosport - 7.2

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