World Happiness Report 2023 64 Figure 2.8: Social support, loneliness, and relationship satisfaction in seven countries in 2022 3.041 1.681 3.328 3.094 2.711 1.624 3.398 2.94 3.314 1.848 3.418 3.195 3.11 1.545 3.18 2.954 3.043 1.419 3.33 3.119 3.146 2.064 3.328 3.051 2.895 1.604 3.333 3.127 3.066 1.667 3.306 3.271 Relationship sat. Loneliness Social connection Social support Relationship sat. Loneliness Social connection Social support Relationship sat. Loneliness Social connection Social support 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Seven country average Brazil Egypt France Indonesia India Mexico United States What about benevolent acts in Ukraine and Russia? As shown in panel D of the figure, donations started from an average frequency of 10% in 2013 in both Ukraine and Russia, and in 2014 more than trebled in Ukraine, a far bigger increase than in Russia. Both Ukraine and Russia shared in the general worldwide increase in benevolence during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. In 2022, benevolence in Ukraine rose to record levels, above 70% for both donations and the helping of strangers, while falling significantly in Russia. Wars are crises that can raise life evaluations if people feel themselves united in a common cause and have trust in their leadership. These factors were more in evidence in Ukraine in 2022 than after 2014. Following the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, life evaluations climbed in Russia and fell in Ukraine, with a gap reaching 2 points.73 This gap was eliminated by 2021, but grew again in 2022, but followed a different pattern. Despite the magnitude of suffering and damage in Ukraine, life evaluations in September 2022 remained higher than in the aftermath of the 2014 annexation, supported by a much stronger sense of common purpose, benevolence and trust in their leadership. Increased benevolence and trust in government are frequently found in times of crisis, especially if the population is united in a common cause. In the Ukrainian case, both factors74 helped to limit the overall well-being damage caused by the Russian invasion. Nonetheless, the net effect was to reduce life evaluations by more than two-thirds of a point in Ukraine, as shown in the first panel of Figure 2.7.
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