Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: New negative records for life satisfaction!

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: New negative records for life satisfaction!

In a recent study on the topic of life satisfaction, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MV) stands out as the federal state with the lowest level of satisfaction. According to the latest “Happiness Atlas 2025”, MV has achieved a new negative record with just 6.06 points and remains unchanged in last place in the country ranking Northern Courier reported.

The study, in which a total of 13,905 people aged 16 and over were surveyed between July 2024 and June 2025, shows serious differences in life satisfaction within the federal states. While MV is in a dismal 16th place, Hamburg shines with a satisfaction score of 7.33 points and thus takes the top spot. Bavaria (7.21 points), Rhineland-Palatinate (7.21 points) and North Rhine-Westphalia (7.19 points) are also well ahead of MV, whose gap to the second-to-last federal state, Saarland, has increased further.

The background of the dissatisfaction

The results of the Happiness Atlas paint a bleak picture for the people of MV. Men over 60 and single people are particularly dissatisfied. At 5.88 points, life satisfaction in Mecklenburg is noticeably worse than in Western Pomerania, where, however, the sun does not shine and the values ​​are 6.75 points. The national average represents a slight increase to 7.15 points, indicating that satisfaction remains high in other federal states, while MV, with only 25.4% of highly satisfied citizens, lags far behind the national average of 48%.

Also worrying is income satisfaction in MV, which only reaches 5.67 points, compared to 6.60 points nationwide. These numbers clearly correlate with an overall low quality of life in the state, where both the unemployment rate and the average age exceed the national values. In addition, aspects such as leisure, family and work in MV are also below the national average.

Stability and satisfaction in the rest of Germany

Like the analysis of NDR shows, the increasing inequality in happiness between the federal states is viewed as less dramatic, but MV remains disconnected from this development. Here, dissatisfaction drives people even deeper into the negative trend. The lack of income in particular is depressing the mood. Bernd Raffelhüschen, the scientific director of the Happiness Atlas, emphasizes that this declining income satisfaction is a central issue in MV.

The economic conditions in MV can be seen in the gross domestic product (GDP), which also has below-average values ​​compared to other federal states. A look at the economic reality as it appears on the side of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shown shows that these trends also lead to remarkable results in other parts of Germany.

Overall, one thing remains clear: The Happiness Atlas 2025 reveals that MV is not only struggling with shockingly low life satisfaction, but also that the reasons for this are deeply rooted in the economic and social structure of the state. It seems to be time for a rethink and solutions to be developed to sustainably improve the quality of life of the people in MV.