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The UK is the worst place to live in Europe, thanks to a combination of high living costs, a poor work-life balance and low government spending on healthcare and education, according to the latest uSwitch Quality of Life Index.
This is the UK’s first year at the bottom of the Index, which calculates an overall quality of life score for ten European nations, based on 16 factors including net income, VAT and the cost of essential goods such as fuel, food and energy bills, as well as lifestyle issues like hours of sunshine, days holiday, working hours and life expectancy.
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.Click to see infographic
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.
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The UK is the worst place to live in Europe, thanks to a combination of high living costs, a poor work-life balance and low government spending on healthcare and education, according to the latest uSwitch Quality of Life Index.
This is the UK’s first year at the bottom of the Index, which calculates an overall quality of life score for ten European nations, based on 16 factors including net income, VAT and the cost of essential goods such as fuel, food and energy bills, as well as lifestyle issues like hours of sunshine, days holiday, working hours and life expectancy.
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.Click to see infographic
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.
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