Singaporeans who volunteer or donate to help others are more likely to be satisfied or happy with their lives, a national study has found.

Those who give more- whether of their time or money- and do so more frequently also tend to rate higher on satisfaction and happiness.

The Subjective Well-being survey was done as part of the National Volunteer & Philantrophy Centre's (NVPC) Individual Giving survey in 2012 which interviewed 1,512 Singapore residents. Done every two years, the survey tracks volunteerism and philanthropy trends in Singapore.

"This survey comes timely with increasing discussion and importance placed on individual well-being and what it means to be happy," said NVPC's chief executive Laurence Lien.