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Baby boomers are the least happy generation in the UK despite being one of the most well-off, new research shows. The main reason for this appears to be their sheer number, which has led to competition for jobs, houses, partners and everything else.

and at the University of California, Davis, analysed data from a to gauge people鈥檚 happiness and examine other social trends. The data spanned 2002 to 2018 and involved more than 19,000 people across the UK.

They found that baby boomers 鈥� people born between 1946 and 1964 鈥� were the unhappiest generation over the 16-year survey period. When asked, 鈥渢aking all things together, how happy would you say you are?鈥�, 17 per cent of boomers reported being unhappy, meaning they selected a score of 5 or below on a scale running from 0 to 10.

The happiest generations were the youngest and oldest. Only 10 per cent of Gen Zers, born between 1997 and 2012, and just 12 per cent of the 鈥淕reatest鈥� generation, born between 1900 and 1927, said they were unhappy.

This hints that baby boomers may be less happy because they are at a tricky middle age 鈥� possibly struggling with retirement or the triple demands of children, grandchildren and elderly parents. But Ye says this isn鈥檛 the case, because they were also unhappiest when the survey began in 2002 and some were only in their late 30s then. Moreover, the generations above were happier when they were the age that boomers are now.

So what鈥檚 going on? Ye and Shu鈥檚 analysis found that cohort size was the biggest predictor of happiness, accounting for 48 per cent of the variation between generations. The large size of the boomer generation seems to have made it the most miserable.

鈥淏aby boomers competed with more siblings when they were growing up, more students at school and more people when they entered the job and housing market,鈥� says Ye. Snagging the partner they wanted may also have been harder due to greater competition, he says. As a result, boomers may have experienced more psychological stress from falling short of aspirations and comparing themselves with more successful peers, he says.

Ye and Shu also found that boomers had the highest separation and divorce rates of any generation and were least likely to socialise on a daily basis, which probably also contributed to their relative gloom.

One of the most interesting findings of the study was that happiness didn鈥檛 appear to be tied to the wealth of the age cohort, says at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. The boomers ranked second in income, just behind Gen Xers, who were born between 1965 and 1980. 鈥淭he saying 鈥榤oney doesn鈥檛 buy you happiness鈥� is actually true,鈥� says Wright.

Ye and Shu are now analysing similar survey data from the US and have found that US boomers are also the least happy because of their large cohort size.

鈥淣ext, we plan to look at countries with different cultures because it might be the case that in countries with strong individualistic cultures, boomers fare worse, but in countries with strong social support systems, like in Scandinavia, these cohort effects are lessened,鈥� says Ye.

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