Societal well-being is the underlying theme in this year's edition, covering issues like wealth, health and life satisfaction. Household net wealth and GDP per head have both increased and many of us take up a role in society through volunteering and attending arts and sports events. However, despite eating more healthily and living longer, more years are spent in poor health and obesity levels and alcohol-related deaths have risen.

Marriage is still the most common form of partnership, although increasing proportions are choosing to cohabit. On the environmental front, we're recycling more with less going to landfill, but an increase in the number of people living alone may be thwarting the gains from energy efficiencies. Although housing remains a substantial cost to household budgets, our volumes of expenditure on communication, recreation and leisure, and by UK tourists abroad, have risen significantly in recent years – possibly because we are now getting more for our money, rather than spending much more.