With Christmas officially over, many of us are entering 2024 with only one thing on our minds: a holiday. But it can be hard to choose the perfect destination. However, new research has revealed the European countries with the best quality of life to add to your travel bucket list, with Ireland taking the crown.
Experts at lifestyle magazine Dailybase analysed 12 factors to determine which European countries have the best quality of life, including unemployment rate, access to healthcare, cost of living, and salary.
The country that has ranked number one on the list is Ireland, with a score of 73.72 out of 100. It’s rate of change of GDP was 11.97 in 2022, 354% higher than the European average. It also has a divorce rate of just 0.6 per 1,000 people. With all factors considered, Ireland, a country that has long been associated with ‘Irish luck,’ has been crowned as the country that provides the best quality of life.
In second place is Norway with a score of 69.25 out of 100, receiving a perfect score of 100% for literacy rate, meaning all of its residents aged 15 and above are able to read and write. It also has a particularly high life expectancy of 83 years old. Attracting millions of tourists annually for the famous Northern Lights and the midnight sun, this country has one of the best qualities of life in the continent.
Next on the list is the Netherlands, which takes a score of 68.76 out of 100. The country is known for being very tolerant, being the first in the world to legalise gay marriage, and its inhabitants have the third highest quality of life in Europe. In comparison to other European countries, it has a very low unemployment rate of just 3.7%, as well as a very high 55.6% of its residents having completed tertiary education.
Number four is Luxembourg. The nation has a very high average salary of 4,670 Euros per month, as well as having a life expectancy of 82 years old and a perfect literacy rate of 100%, coming out with an overall score of 67.9 out of 100. With its free public transportation and beautiful landscapes, it has the fourth best quality of life in Europe, despite being one of its smallest countries.
Fifth on the list is the United Kingdom, with 57.47% of residents having completed tertiary education, as well as having a lower suicide rate than any other country in the top 10 list. Overall, the nation’s score was 67.73 out of 100.
Poland is in sixth place, with a score of 66.3 out of 100. Attracting millions of tourists each year with its historic cities and World Heritage Sites, it has an extremely low cost of living in comparison to the rest of Europe and a depression rate of just 2.98%.
Number seven is Switzerland. The country boasts an overall score of 65.77 out of 100, with the highest scores in the whole of Europe for average salary, this being 5,800 Euros per month, and life expectancy, which is 83.85 years old.
Next is Iceland in eighth place, known for its surreal nature and landscapes. It has a death rate of just 6.3 per 1,000 people, one of the lowest in the whole continent, and a depression rate of just 3.52%, with an overall score of 63.73 out of 100.
In ninth place is Germany, which had an average of 698.11 available hospital beds in 2020, meaning citizens have better access to healthcare than any of the other top 10 countries. Overall, it earns a score of 63.63 out of 100 for quality of life.
Finally, Denmark places tenth. Known for its unique colourful houses and friendly inhabitants, it scores 63.57 out of 100, with an especially low unemployment rate of 2.5%.
Daniël de Voer, chief editor of Dailybase, commented on the findings: “This data presents not only the diversity of experiences across Europe, but also the individual factors that contribute to quality of life. It is also interesting to see which countries scored better than others in each category.
“Everyone has different ideas as to what constitutes happiness, but this research provides a fascinating insight into which of Europe’s countries have the best quality of life.”
This information was provided by Dailybase, the lifestyle magazine that is the go-to place for tech, travel, sport and news.
