While a large majority of adults in the Netherlands are happy with their lives, there has been a slight drop since 2019, and young adults have been hardest hit, according to research by national statistics agency CBS.

In total, just over 86% of people are happy, but that is down from just under 89% before coronavirus restricted socialising. But among young adults up to the age of 25, the drop is more noticeable, from 87.5% to almost 81% now, the CBS said.

In 1997, young adults were the happiest group in the population. Nowadays, people aged 65 to 75 are most likely to be happy, with 90% giving their lives a score of at least seven out of 10.

The Netherlands has long been considered one of the happiest nations on the planet. In the most recent UN World Happiness Report the Netherlands was in fifth place, behind Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland.

However, several research projects have suggested that coronavirus has had a significant impact on the lives of young adults.

The CBS itself said last year coronavirus has had a negative impact on the lives of almost half the Netherlands’ teenagers and young adults, but 43% say it has had both negative and positive effects.