What makes men and women truly happy? | Taranaki News | Local News in Taranaki

A SURVEY commissioned by the Coca-Cola Company asked 2,000 New Zealanders to rate factors that contributed to their personal happiness.
The campaign aims to discover what happiness means in different countries, including New Zealand, and establish happiness levels around the world.
The survey found that females trump males in the smile stakes, scoring 7.1 out of 10 for life satisfaction compared with the men who scored 6.9 out of 10.
Men and women also seek different forms of satisfaction when it comes to happiness, with results showing that 82 per cent New Zealand females gain the most happiness from their family.
Men however, preferred their freedom (36 per cent) and time to pursue their leisure activities (32 per cent).
Freedom was particularly important to males 50-59 where it rated favourably compared to other factors. 
The survey also found that although money may not buy us happiness having ‘enough’ money ranked second in sources of happiness for both men (57 per cent) and women (55 per cent). Being intimate did not rank highly with either males or females with both choosing rest (31 per cent) over intimacy (1 per cent) as the happiest moment of the day.
When it came to the top five things that created happiness both sexes rated:
1. Your Family – Females (82 per cent) vs Males (71 per cent)
2. Having enough money – Females (57 per cent) vs Males (55 per cent)
3. Good Health – Females (57 per cent) vs Males (52 per cent)
4. Your Friends – Females (51 per cent) vs Males (46 per cent)
5. Partner/Boyfriend/Girlfriend – Females (39 per cent) vs Males (45 per cent)

Where are the happiest of them all?
The Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough region is the most satisfied with an average rating of 7.3/10 and the Manawatu-Wanganui region the least at 6.7/10
Put your feet up
When it comes to happiest moments, the Hawke’s Bay like to put up their feet and relax the most (46 per cent), while Wellington came in the lowest (24 per cent) and the highest in exercising (15 per cent)
Keeping it in the whanau
Northlanders happiest moment of their day is catching up with their family or friends the in the evening (55 per cent), while Otago residents rated this moment the lowest against other regions (28 per cent)
NZ Men vs. NZ Women
Talkfest: New Zealand women enjoy chatting more than men, with 42 per cent of women versus 35 per cent of men enjoy catching up with friends or family in the evening
Females for warm fuzzies, Males for freedom
Females over indexed on ‘Internal feeling of fulfilment/contentment’ (35 per cent), while males over indexed on ‘Freedom’ (36 per cent) and ‘Leisure activities’ (32 per cent)
The smiling 60s: 60+ females are the happiest group in New Zealand with a mean of 7.7/10

NZ vs. the World
Taking time out
Globally, Kiwis get the most happiness from leisure (27 per cent), with the next highest territory the UK (20 per cent)
They’re all ears
For teens, listening to music and catching up with friends is an important trend across the globe, over indexing on music (40 per cent) and being the only age group to gain greater happiness from friends over family
Between the sheets
‘Climbing into bed’ ranked 3rd for New Zealanders, however this moment did not reach the top 6 in the global survey.