This is a league table of the 138 statistical regions of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for overall quality of life, based on a wide range of statistics from official sources like the ONS.
Clackmannanshire and Fife is somewhere that has gained a few places since we last conducted Uswitch's Best Places to Live in The UK Quality of Life Index using data from 2013, however still unfortunately finds itself in our 20 worst places in the UK for quality of life in 2015.
It has moved ten places up the list to go from 133 of 138, to 123.
Here are some of the 2015 stats for Clackmannanshire and Fife in Eastern Scotland:
Employment
The employment rates in Clackmannanshire and Fife are relatively average, both for the UK as a whole and for Scotland, at 73% in employment.
Full time workers doing standard hours (35-45 a week) in Clackmannanshire and Fife are also in the region of average at 44%, and there are 24% on top of those that are working more than 45 hours on a regular basis (considered to indicate poor quality of life due to a poor work life balance). Again, this is fairly average.
Income
Incomes are on the high end of the average range with the individual gross weekly income at £470.80 in Clackmannanshire and Fife.
House Prices
If you are looking to buy property, Clackmannanshire and Fife has low house prices, averaging £115k in 2015. Renting here is also cheaper than UK averages at £61 per person, per week.
Life Expectancy
As is the case throughout most of Scotland, Clackmannanshire and Fife has slightly lower than average life expectancy for the UK as a whole, with men expected to live for 78 years and women 82. This is not, however, among the very lowest in the UK.
Living Costs
The cost of living is about average in Clackmannanshire and Fife with food bills for a household amounting to £55 per week. One area where Clackmannanshire and Fife is cheaper than average by a significant margin is car insurance, which is low at £343.20 (this is a trend in Scotland however), though petrol is slightly more costly than average at 118p.
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Other Important Factors
One area where Clackmannanshire and Fife falls well short of average is in technology. Only 76% of the area covered by the Clackmannanshire and Fife statistical region can receive mobile phone signal at present, and broadband speeds are low at 17.55Mbps.
As you can see, there are no particularly terrible stats for Clackmannanshire and Fife, however because it has no outstanding positives with most of its stats mediocre or worse, and some negatives like poor communication infrastructure, it comparatively ends up near the bottom of the table.
More to life than rankings
At Uswitch, we know that there is more to life than rankings, stats and figures, and our Qualify of Life Index merely highlights the vast differences in the experiences of people across the UK.
Whether you're living in the best city or the worst, millions of households in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland face financial struggles including rising energy bills and credit card debt. That's why it's more important than ever for households to assess their budgets, and Uswitch.com offers a great way to start.
Below you can find ways to save on everything from car insurance to mobile bills.
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Place to Live 2015 — Where did your region rank?
About the research
The Uswitch.com study assessed 138 local areas (NUTS3 regions) for 26 factors such as salaries, disposable household income, and the cost of essential goods including food bills, fuel costs and energy bills. The study also factored in lifestyle issues like hours of sunshine, working hours and life expectancy to ensure a full picture of the quality of life in each NUTS3 region.
For more about the study's methodology, read the full press release .