OBJECTIVES: A robust understanding of well-being inequalities is recognized as a critical factor in promoting social justice and decreasing disparities in well-being outcomes. This study aims to analyse the socioeconomic inequalities in subjective well-being (SWB) and to explore determinants of well-being inequality among the Hungarian adult general population.

METHODS: The data originated from a large cross-sectional, internet-based broadly representative survey in Hungary conducted in 2020. A total of 2001 respondents were enrolled to the study (men 46.9%; age range: 18-87). We applied validated multi-item instruments for measuring subjective well-being, namely Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Raw scores on these two measures were transformed to a 0-1 scale. ANOVA was used to examine the differences between subgroups. The concentration index (CI) was used to measure the degree of income-related inequality in well-being.

RESULTS: The means ± SD of SWLS and WHO-5 scores were 0.51 ± 0.21 and 0.51 ± 0.23, respectively. Using both SWB measures, having a higher income level, a higher educational level, or living with a spouse/partner tended to increase well-being (p<0.05). Respondents living in n county towns had higher mean ± SD WHO-5 (0.54 ± 0.21) compared to those living in other towns (0.50 ± 0.21), or villages (0.50 ± 0.21) (p<0.05). The CI of WHO-5 scores was lower than that of SWLS scores both in the total sample (0.0371 vs. 0.0707) and in subgroups by sex (male: 0.0469 vs. 0.0889, female: 0.0237 vs.0.0582). The positive concentration index values implied a slight pro-rich inequality in this population.

CONCLUSIONS: To protect against the subsequent adverse effect of lower socioeconomic status on subjective well-being, we recommend the potential interdisciplinary researches regarding socioeconomic inequalities and well-being to support the development and evaluation of relevant policies.