Here is another 2 data set question based on real data.

The first data set is a line graph showing how satisfied people are with life as they age.

life satisfaction01

The second data set is a bar chart showing happiness and GDP per person (this is not the income of each person but the overall wealth of the country averaged across the entire population)

life satisfaction04

The trends for men and women are quite similar except that teenage males are more satisfied than females although from the age of 20 onwards, the trends are almost identical with satisfaction falling steadily until mid-life and then rising substantially as people get older.

The bar chart data is very interesting because even though a list of countries like this may not be expected to show a trend that can easily be described, the data allows us to identify wealthy and poor countries (the GDP figures) – in an IELTS exam candidates are not expected to know this. Once the rich and poor countries have been identified, I can also identify a general trend and that is that people tend to be happier in poor countries and less happy in rich ones. (Note that this is actually a real and quite general trend and it is seen in many more countries than listed here).

I have to say that this is a GENERAL TREND because it is not completely true. For example, Australia has a lower GDP than the USA but its people are not much happier and India has a much lower GDP than Mexico but its people are slightly LESS happy. Nevertheless, as can be seen from the heights of the bars in the bar chart shown here, it is generally true that as the GDP increases, people are less happy. Remember, this is the BIG PICTURE and I do not have to worry about very minor variations.

Here is one way to write the big picture statement:

“Overall, while people become less satisfied until middle age, satisfaction then rises substantially as they age and with the exception of teenagers, the trend is almost the same for men and women. The data also shows that people tend to be happier in poorer countries and less happy as the wealth of the country increases.”

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(Data source: British Household Panel Survey (line graph) as quoted in
and IPSOS Nov 2011 survey/IMF (bar chart))