Fascinating figures have immerged in the latest round of data released by Office for National Statistics (ONS). The key finding has been that religious people are happier than people with no religion. And of all the faiths, Hindus are the happiest scoring well above the national average and just under the figures for people who are ‘in very good health’.

So why are Hindus happier than other faiths? Much of the comment in the international press leads on Hindus being a much more flexible faith which with its plethora of festivals, pilgrimages and colourful stories makes it a fascinating faith.

The ONS report analysed personal well-being data for more than 300,000 adults in the UK. The samples were collected over three years, between 2012 and 2015.

On average, Hindus had a score of 7.57 for happiness, followed by Christians at 7.47, Sikhs with 7.45 and Buddhist at 7.41. Muslims had the lowest happiness ranking of the religions listed, with a score of 7.33. Happiness amongst Jews fell below the national average, with a rating of 7.37. This was followed by 7.26 for people with other religion and those with no religion scored 7.22.

The ONS also reported other demographics. The most notable being people aged between 65 and 79 reported the highest average levels of well-being. So perhaps an elderly Hindu must a very happy individual. The scores for life satisfaction and happiness were at their lowest for those aged between 45 and 59. Those aged 90 and over reported higher life satisfaction and happiness compared with people in their middle years.