Taipei rated as happiest city in Taiwan

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on August 31, 2006. It reports that according to results of a recent survey, Taipei City ranks as the happiest city in Taiwan.

The Common Wealth magazine recently conducted a "happy index" survey that examined the level of happiness in every city and county in Taiwan. The five criteria used in the survey were economic development, social security, education, social welfare, and political righteousness.

According to the survey, per capita personal income for people in Taipei City is NT$380,000, which is the highest of all 25 cities and counties in Taiwan. Yilan County in northern Taiwan comes in second, with NT$240,000 per capita income.

Results of the survey also showed that people who live near industrial parks find it easier to find work. Correspondingly, the unemployment rate in Hsinchu County in northern Taiwan is 3.9 percent, the lowest of all cities and counties in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, according to the survey, Hsinchu County has seen steady economic growth for the past 10 years. The Central Taiwan Science-based Industrial Park has also been Taiwan's rising star since 2000. For example, 74.7 percent of the survey's respondents said that they think the Taichung City Government has made significant efforts in creating jobs.

In terms of political support, the Taipei City Government was found to be the most supported, with 74.7 percent of the vote. The Kinmen County Government and the Taichung City Government came in second and third place, respectively.

The survey also asked respondents whether they feel happy with life in general. Results showed that 83 percent of those surveyed felt happy. However, only 34 percent of respondents said that they think they will be happy in five years' time.

"Taiwanese people are content with their life at present, but they feel pessimistic about the future," organizers of the survey said.

The survey was conducted between July 17 and August 6 via random phone calls. A total of 10,225 effective answers were collected, with a margin of error between 5.0 to 4.7 percentage points.