The Tel Aviv shoreline. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Complaining often seems like Israel’s national pastime, but a new government survey shows that, in fact, 88% of Israelis are happy and satisfied with their lives.

The Hebrew news site Walla reported that the results of a wide-ranging survey conducted by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, which were published on Wednesday, showed that 89.8% of Israeli Jews and 80.7% of Israeli Arabs are satisfied with their lives — an average of 88.3% of all citizens over the age of 20.

The poll also found that despite the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, an overwhelming number of Israelis have a strong sense of personal security. Some 85% of Jews and 89% of Arabs feel they are safe and, for example, have no fear of going out after dark.

In addition, the survey revealed some strong differences between Jews and Arabs on the question of religious identity. Among Jews, 45% consider themselves secular, 25% traditional, 16% religious, and 14% ultra-Orthodox.

In the Arab population, the results were almost the opposite — with 11% calling themselves secular, 31% religious, and 57% traditional.