Income and education: In which European countries people are more satisfied with their lives
Austrian residents (photo: pixabay.com)
Residents of EU countries are satisfied with their lives on average by 7 out of 10. People live best in the north and west of Europe, according to a recent Eurostat report. What determines life satisfaction and which countries have the highest scores is revealed by schengenvisainfo.com.
Which countries are the best to live in
According to a Eurostat report, life satisfaction among EU residents in 2022 was 7.1 on a scale from 0 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied).
According to subjective assessments of life satisfaction, the top 10 countries include residents of the following:
- Austria - 7.9;
- Finland - 7.7;
- Poland - 7.7;
- Romania - 7.7;
- Belgium - 7.6;
- Netherlands - 7.6;
- Slovenia - 7.5;
- Czech Republic - 7.4;
- Ireland - 7.4;
- Malta - 7.4.
At the same time, the lowest scores were given by residents of Bulgaria (5.6), Germany (6.5) Greece (6.7), Latvia (6.8), and Croatia (6.8).
"In all countries except Bulgaria, the average life satisfaction scores exceeded 6, meaning that most people in the EU considered themselves satisfied rather than dissatisfied," the report says.
Austrian landscapes (photo: pixabay.com)
What determines the level of life satisfaction
It turned out that satisfaction scores depended on the age of the people who took part in the survey. In most EU countries, people aged 16-29 reported higher life satisfaction than those over 65. But in Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Finland, the picture was the opposite - more pensioners were satisfied with everything than young people.
Life satisfaction is influenced by income. Although those with more money (7.6) are more satisfied, even people with the lowest income (6.5) were also more satisfied with their lives than dissatisfied. At the same time, countries that had lower incomes in the recent past, such as Romania and Poland, are among those with the highest levels of life satisfaction today.
Also, life satisfaction in every EU country has increased in parallel with the level of education.
People in households with children have consistently reported the highest levels of life satisfaction. In 2022, at the EU level, this figure was 7.3, compared to an average of 7.0 for households without children and 6.7 for single-person households. This is a specific factor for the European context, as studies on other continents have often found the opposite.
Gdansk, Poland, is one of the most comfortable cities in Europe (photo: pixabay.com)
According to the EU's 2023 European Cities Quality of Life Report, almost 89% of residents expressed satisfaction with their city. Most of all in the following cities:
- Zurich, Switzerland (97%);
- Copenhagen, Denmark (96%);
- Groningen, the Netherlands (96%);
- Gdansk, Poland (95%);
- Leipzig, Germany (95%).
On the other hand, the cities that received the lowest scores in terms of resident satisfaction were Palermo (Italy), Athens (Greece), and Istanbul (Turkey).
Earlier, we wrote that Bern, Switzerland, remains the most comfortable city in Europe for European expats. The city has the best amenities, minimal air pollution, and a low crime rate.
We also mentioned that the happiest country in the world is located in Europe. Finland's peculiarity is its large areas of forests.
