Mexicans work more, earn less, suffer more insecurity and obesity... but they are more satisfied with their lives than people in other countries, according to the results of the Better Life Index, a study recently carried out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD.)

Throughout a given year, each working-age Mexican works an average of 2,226 hours, whereas in other OECD countries - which comprises of 36 industrialized countries - the average was 1,765 hours of work per year.

On top of that, there is the fact that the income of families in Mexico is around $12,850 a year compared to $23,938 that families of the other countries obtain over one year.

However, neither working more nor earning less appears to make life more difficult for Mexicans, as the majority of them feel fine, according to figures from the OECD Better Life Index.

More than eight in ten Mexicans interviewed claimed to have more positive experiences - such as feelings of peace or satisfaction with their achievements - than negative ones. This is higher than other countries with high development indices considered in the study, where the average was 76 percent. Mexicans rated their satisfaction with their life as 8.9 on a scale from 0 to 10, which was 0.8 percent higher than the average for other countries.

For the study, the OECD interviewed people from 36 countries, including Mexico, the United States, Japan, Chile, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Russia, and Switzerland.

"While money may not buy happiness, it is an important means to achieving higher living standards and thus greater well-being. Higher economic wealth may also improve access to quality education, health care and housing," said the study.

Another factor to be considered in Mexico is inequality. The OECD warns that 20 percent of its wealthiest inhabitants earn three times more than the 20 percent of lowest-earning Mexicans.

Furthermore, insecurity remains high in the country due to the violence associated with the drug cartels and citizen's lack of trust in the country's police forces.

As for health problems, one of Mexico's biggest problems is obesity, as 32.4 percent of adult Mexicans suffer from it, which places Mexico just below the United States in that respect.

The organization says that, if the trend continues as such, there will be: "increases in the occurrence of health problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and asthma, and higher health care costs in the future."

The Australians scored the highest for the 11 well-being indicators: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, life satisfaction, safety, and work-life balance.

Conversely, Mexico was the second lowest ranking, just above Turkey and below Russia, Greece, Brazil, and Chile, among the nations with the lowest hierarchies.

In agreement with the 60,000 people than have shared their opinions up until now, the most important factor contributing towards happiness is satisfaction with life, health, and education. The OECD investigators found that there are differences depending on where you come from, your age, and sometimes whether you are a man or a woman.

Translated by: Stuart Taylor - Mexico Voices