The overwhelming majority of older people are happy with their lives, with many more of them worrying about the state of the country and of the world than about their personal health, according to an Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll of the over-50s.
Some 93 per cent are happy with their lives, with just 5 per cent unhappy, and 2 per cent saying they don't know.
These proportions are very consistent across all age groups among the over-50s. The percentage of those unemployed and seeking work and happy is 71 per cent - considerably lower than the 94 per cent of people who are either working or retired and happy.
The poll was taken last month among a national quota sample of 1,000 people aged over 50 at 100 sampling points in the State.
The over-50s make up around 25 per cent of the population, a proportion that could grow to 40 per cent over the next 30 years, according to projections by the Central Statistics Office.
While happy with their lives, the over-50s are less happy with the way the economy is developing, and a majority is unhappy with the way Irish society is developing.
Some 63 per cent are happy with the economy, 28 per cent unhappy and 9 per cent don't know.
Just 38 per cent are happy with the way Irish society is developing, 53 per cent are unhappy and 10 per cent don't know.
Some 69 per cent describe their health as good, 26 per cent see it as middling, and 5 per cent as bad.
Those seeing their health as good decreases with age, but even among the oldest age cohort, few see it as bad. Among those aged 50-64, 77 per cent describe their health as good, 18 per cent as middling and 4 per cent as bad. In the 65 and over group, 58 per cent see their health as good, 35 per cent as middling and 7 per cent as bad. Despite the increased vulnerability to ill health that comes with age, the over-50s rank personal health as the last of nine issues of concern put to them.
Just 17 per cent are extremely or very concerned about their personal health, with much larger numbers concerned about crime, their personal finances, the US-led "war on terrorism", the health services and climate change. Some 58 per cent are extremely or very concerned about the way the US and its allies are conducting the "war on international terrorism"; 57 per cent about crime and personal security; 54 per cent about day-to-day living expenses; 51 per cent about the threat of international terrorism; 45 per cent about the health service in general; 44 per cent about the amount of money they will have when they retire; 42 per cent about the number of immigrants coming into the country; and 39 per cent about global climate change.