The happiest place to live in the UK is the Scottish Highlands

One of the least happy places is Bolsover in Derbyshire

The results come from a study which measured the personal well-being of people across the UK (Rex Features)

The Scottish Highlands is home to the happiest people in the UK, according to new figures.

It comes after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) measured the wellbeing of more than 300,000 people by asking them to rate their happiness on a zero to 10 scale, where zero corresponds to a low level of happiness and 10, a very high level.

The Highlands has the largest proportion of people whose happiness level is very high, with just over 43 per cent rating it at nine or 10 out of 10.

Bolsover in Derbyshire has the largest proportion of people in the UK who rated their happiness as low.

Just over 17 per cent of residents placed it between zero and four out of 10. Despite this, 37 per cent of people rated their happiness at the other end of the scale and said it was very high.

The ONS research found that on average, people in the UK rated their happiness between seven and eight out of 10.

"The analysis here suggests that the region where we live is related to personal well-being," said Matthew Steel from the ONS.

"Previous analysis has also shown that generally across regions, people living in rural areas give higher ratings for their well-being than those living in urban areas when other factors have been taken into account."

In England, the largest proportion of people who rate their happiness as very high - almost 40 per cent - live in Mid Sussex.

“Being happy isn’t just about where you are; it’s also about who you are with and how you live your life,” Councillor Garry Wall, leader of Mid Sussex District Council, told the BBC.

“We live in an area surrounded by beautiful countryside, areas of outstanding natural beauty and enjoy a growing local economy but crucially we have strong local communities.”

One of the least happy place in England is Wolverhampton, where just 21.7 per cent of people put their happiness at nine or 10 out of 10.

But people in the West Midlands city were also among the least anxious in the UK.