The Isle of Man apparently ranks among the top 40 happiest nations in the world.

But 40% of households say they have experienced two years of financial strain and 63 per cent believe wealth inequality here is worsening - while more than half feel government policies are having a negative impact on their lives.

These are among the startling findings of the latest, now-annual social attitudes survey published by the Cabinet Office.

A sample of 1,888 residents aged from 18 to 89 were asked for their views on a range of issues such as employment, housing, household finances, leisure activities and politics.

Some 86% said they were ’happy’ or ’very happy’ with the Isle of Man as a place to live. They said the ’best thing’ about living here is safety and low crime, while the ’worst thing’ is the cost and inconvenience of travelling off-Island.

Some 56% said they were ’dissatisfied’ or ’very dissatisfied’ with air and sea links.

The average ’happiness score’ in the island is 6.43/10, compared to 6.7/10 for the UK.

This would rank the Isle of Man at 34 out of the 155 countries worldwide who participate in the World Happiness Study.

The happiest country is Norway, with a score of 7.54, and the least happy is the Central African Republic with a score of 2.69.

Some 40% of respondents felt their household finances have got ’worse’ or ’significantly worse’ over the past year, and 32 per cent expected further financial decline in the next year.

Just over a quarter (26%) of households said they found it ’quite difficult’ or ’very difficult’ to cope financially.

And some 62% felt the island has become more unequal with regard to wealth.

One in three working people (32%), presumably not those who are struggling financially, said they intend to retire before reaching state retirement age.

Satisfaction with public services remains consistent since last year’s survey, with police scoring highest and the utilities the lowest.

Confidence in public institutions including the government and local media has increased slightly over the year but parliament is rated lowest at 38%.

Only 29% of respondents felt the government has clear policies and 53% believe those policies have negative impact, with only 30% saying the impact is positive.

Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas MHK said: ’This survey will help to guide the development of government policy by giving us a clearer picture of what people think about living in the Isle of Man and how they view the performance of government.’

The 76-page social attitudes survey 2017 can be viewed on the gov.im website.