Communiqué, issue 4, 2004
Articles
- Towards the Lisbon objectives: The new four-year programme
- Occupational pension systems in Europe
- Quality of life in Germany and Poland
- Focusing on Europe’s working poor
- ERM records high levels of job losses
- Living to work, working to live
- Life satisfaction varies but Europeans are generally optimistic about the future
- Challenging times ahead
Previous issues of Communiqué
Citizens in the former EU15 have higher life satisfaction levels than reported in the new Member States and the three candidate countries.
The exceptions include Portugal on the one hand and Cyprus and Malta on the other. People in the Nordic countries report the highest levels of satisfaction. Throughout the EU25, unemployment greatly diminishes life satisfaction.
On average, 64% of Europeans are optimistic about the future, although there are big gaps between countries. There is a marked tendency for people in urban areas to be more optimistic than those in rural areas.
Life satisfaction levels across Europe
Mean life satisfaction on a scale from 1 ‘very dissatisfied’ to 10 ‘very satisfied’
Source: EQLS, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2004
Page last updated: 17 December, 2007