uSwitch Quality of Life Index: UK is the worst place to live in Europe
The UK was joined at the bottom of the index by Sweden and Ireland, while France came first for the third year in a row, with Spain taking second place and the Netherlands third.
Commenting on the findings, Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch, said: “Last year at least our neighbours in Ireland were worse off, now we can’t even console ourselves with that.
"We are now officially at the bottom of the pile. We may still be enjoying the fourth highest household income in Europe, but the high cost of living means that we’re living to work."
Despite having higher than average pay, the UK’s overall score in the uSwitch Quality of Life Index was dragged down by long working hours, the lowest number of holiday days a year, a high retirement age, the most expensive food, high energy prices and higher than average petrol costs, as well as very few hours of sunshine.
The UK’s comparatively low investment in health and education also had a significant impact on its score, and with the government looking to cut public spending, things could get worse before they get better.
The UK spends just 11.2% of GDP on health, which is higher than last year, but well below the European average of 12%; only Poland and Sweden spend less.
The UK now spends less on education than it did in 2010 too – falling below the average again at just 5.36% of GDP.
The high cost of living is also a significant reason for the UK coming at the bottom of the Index; the average household energy bill stands at £1,273 a year, while food and diesel prices are the highest in Europe and alcohol is the third most expensive.
The UK’s working culture also lowers the overall score: UK workers put in an average of 36.4 hours a week, retire at 63 and get just 28 days holiday a year.
With quality of life in the UK now the worst in the Index, an accompanying poll found that nearly half (46%) of those questioned have thought about emigrating.
France may have achieved the highest Quality of Life score, but most people would actually prefer to live in Spain, which took second place.
In a poll, 13% of Brits said that if they could live in any European country they would choose Spain, while 7% chose France.
Spain has more to offer would-be expats than the obvious sunshine: the Spanish can expect to live a year longer than people in the UK, they have the highest number of days holiday in Europe and the lowest prices for alcohol.
Social issues were not included in the Index, but they are concern many people in the UK.
A uSwitch poll found that the the worst thing about living in the UK at the moment was the ‘broken society’, the second biggest concern was immigration, while unemployment and job security came third, followed by the cost of petrol and the weather.
Ann Robinson commented: “It’s not surprising that one in ten of us (12%) have seriously contemplated starting a new life abroad.
“But for those of us who decide to stick it out and ride the storm, there will be no choice but to batten down the hatches.
“Cutting back where possible to help combat our high living costs will go some way to improving our quality of life.
"This may be the only way to steer through these turbulent times until we reach a point where we can start to see our quality of life improve."
The Index is caculated based on data from the following sources:
- Working hours based on average usual weekly hours worked on main job. data from OECD/ ILO http://laborsta.ilo.org.
- Retirement age is based on average exit age from the labour market. Data from Eurostat http://bit.ly/oTqnGJ
- Holiday entitlements is calculated as the sum of statutory minimum holidays and public holidays, based on statutory entitlements for an employee working five days a week, with 10 years’ service. Data from Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Eurostat, Federation of European Employers http://europa.eu/travel/time/holidays/index_en.htmhttp://www.fedee.com/condits.html
- Sunshine data from German Met Office and Solarventi Online Portal http://bit.ly/nPMk1Z
- Life expectancy data from World Bank/ Euromonitor.
- Health spending data from World Bank/ Euromonitor.
- Education spending from Eurostat http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=educ_figdp⟨=en
- Income data is net income after taxes (in GBP) for a two-earner married couple, one at 100% of average earnings and the other at 33% with 2 children. Data from from the Taxing Wages reports by OECD (these reports are currently not available on the OECD website).
- Fuel price data from Eurostat http://ec.europa.eu/energy/observatory/oil/bulletin_en.htm
- Energy prices are based on the prices charged to domestic customers. Electricity prices for household consumers are defined as follows: Average national price in Euro per kWh without taxes applicable for the first semester of each year for medium size household consumers (Consumption Band Dc with annual consumption between 2500 and 5000 kWh). Until 2007 the prices are referring to the status on 1st January of each year for medium size consumers (Standard Consumer Dc with annual consumption of 3500 kWh). Natural gas prices for household consumers are defined as follows: Average national price in Euro per GJ without taxes applicable for the first semester of each year for medium size household consumers (Consumption Band D2 with annual consumption between 20 and 200 GJ).
- Alcohol prices are harmonised consumer prices for wine and beer.
- Food prices are harmonised consumer prices for the following staple items: bread and cereals, meat, fish and seafood, milk, cheese, eggs, fats and oils, fruit, vegetables, sugar,jam honey, chocolate and confectionary.
- The price and tax burden of 20 cigarettes is for the Most Popular Price Category (MPPC) in each country – it is not a comparison of the same brand. Data from http://bit.ly/pb3Ify
- VAT data from Eurostat http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/index_en.htm
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