Less Than Half say 'Children' are Part of the Good Life; Less Than a Quarter say 'College Education' - GfK survey

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Nov 22, 2017, 07:00 ET

NUREMBERG, Germany, November 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

When it comes to the factors that make up 'the good life', the top three most popular items selected by people internationally are good health, financial security and leisure time. These are followed by a happy marriage, travel for leisure, a home you own, and control over one's life.

Market insight experts, GfK, asked 23,000 consumers online in 17 countries about what factors they personally see as being part of 'the good life', specified as the life they would like to have.

'Good health' was selected by nearly eight out of ten of respondents, while 'financial security' attracted seven out of ten and 'leisure time' nearly six and a half out of ten. Over half of people also see a happy marriage, travel for leisure, a home you own, and control over one's life as being part of the good life. And exactly half include having a job that is interesting.

In contrast, less than half of people include children, spiritual enrichment, or a yard and lawn or nice garden. And less than a quarter include really nice clothes, accessories or jewelry, a college education, the latest electronics and gadgets, or a luxury or second car.

Younger age groups lead for seeing 'a college education' as part of the good life; older age groups lead for 'financial security'

College education has greater 'good life' resonance with younger age groups than older ones. Teenagers lead with 29 percent including this, falling to 26 percent of 20-29 year olds and 23 percent of those aged in their thirties and forties, with further drops for those in their fifties and sixty plus. This trend of lessening popularity within each consecutively older age group is also seen for the factors of: really nice clothes, accessories or jewelry, having the latest electronics or gadgets, and having a luxury or second car.

   
    Factors seen as being part of the good life
    Good health                                  78%
    Financial security                           70%
    Free time/leisure time                       64%
    A happy marriage                             60%
    Travel for leisure                           57%
    A home you own                               54%
    Control over one's own life                  53%
    A job that is interesting                    50%
    Children                                     46%
    Spiritual enrichment                         39%
    A yard and lawn/a nice garden                36%
    Really nice clothes/accessories/jewelry      24%
    A college education                          23%
    Having the latest electronics and gadgets
    for my home                                  23%
    A luxury car or second car                   22%
    Don't know                                    1%
    None of the above                             1%
    GfK online survey of 23,000 adults 15+ in 17 countries. Multiple
    answers possible.

In direct contrast, good health, financial security and control over one's own life is most popular among older age groups than younger ones, for their vision of a good life. For financial security, this is led by those aged 60 plus, where 78 percent include this, and then falls steadily for each consecutively younger age group, to reach just 64 percent of teenagers.

Argentinians lead on seeing travelling for leisure as part of the good life; Russian lead on financial security

People in Argentina are the most likely to include travelling for leisure in their picture of the good life - standing at 71 percent. They are followed by Brazilians (67 percent) and Spaniards (66 percent).

Financial security, on the other hand, has most resonance with people in Russia, where 82 percent list this, followed by those in Germany and Belgium (both 79 percent).

Download GfK's complimentary "Good Life factors" report to see key demographic data for each of the 17 countries included in this survey.

GfK combines these self-reported insights with data from areas such as point of sales tracking, consumer panels and geo-marketing to help clients identify and target high-potential audiences both globally and within specific countries.

About the study

The survey question asked, "When you think of the Good Life - the life you'd like to have - which of the things on this list, if any, are part of that Good Life as far as you, personally, are concerned". Countries included are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Spain, UK and USA