What Matters Most in Life?

This article is published in collaboration with Statista

by Tristan Gaudiaut

A Statista Consumer Insights survey conducted in January 2026 shows that, when people are asked what matters most in life, the headline is strikingly consistent: family life and health dominate across the U.K., Germany and the United States. However, the differences observed for the other priorities cited by the respondents reflect different ideas of what a good life should be built on.

In the U.K., family life is the clear front-runner (51 percent), followed by health (44 percent). After that, priorities drop into a second tier: making money (25 percent), work-life balance (24 percent) and safety/security (22 percent). Germany flips the top two, with health ranked first (49 percent) and family life close behind (43 percent). As our chart shows, it is also the country where safety/security (30 percent) is most prominent, suggesting stability is a comparatively stronger part of the value mix. In the United States, the top two remain close: family life (42 percent) and health (40 percent). Yet the “third pillar” looks more personally centered, pointing to a broader blend of ambition and identity-based values: making money ranks third (26 percent), followed by personal growth (24 percent) and faith/spirituality (21 percent).

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