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According to Eurostat, the official statistical service of the EU, the financial situation of the household is not only necessary to maintain a worthy standard of life, but also a decisive role in the general satisfaction of life.
EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) reflects the overall assessment of respondents under the living conditions during the investigation. When they evaluate their financial satisfaction, they take into account:
- Adnequality to income
- The level of savings
- The ability to repay the debt
- The ability to cover large unusual expenses
- Asset level for the entire household
To what extent are Europeans satisfied with their financial situation? What countries report the highest and lower levels of economic satisfaction? Is there a correlation between annual net profit – both in nominal conditions and with the standards of purchasing power – and the satisfaction of the financial situation?
Which countries are most and what is less financially satisfied?
In 2022, on average, people in the EU appreciated their financial situation on 6.6 on a scale from 0 to 10 in accordance with Eurostat. On scale 0 means “not satisfied”, and 10 refers to “full satisfaction”.
Among the 36 European countries, including the EU member states, the Candidate countries, the countries of the United Kingdom and the EX, the household in the Netherlands and Finland, report the higher levels of economic satisfaction, on average 7.6.
Switzerland (7.5), Norway and Sweden (both 7.4) closely follow them.
Five other countries also scored more than 7 points: Austria (7.3), Iceland (7.2) and Belgium, Denmark and Great Britain (7.1).
Romania (7), Germany, Ireland, Malta and Luxembourg (all 6.8), as well as the Czech Republic, Italy and Slovenia (all 6.7), also occupied positions above average in the EU from the point of view of financial satisfaction.
Bulgaria records the lowest level of economic satisfaction from 4.6. Five EU candidates are followed in the classification: Türkiye (4.7), Albania (4.8), Montenegro (4.9), Northern Macedonia (5.1) and Serbia (5.2). Greece (5.3) is close to this group.
France and Spain are not enough on average EU
Among the five largest economies in Europe, Spain mentions the lowest economic satisfaction with 6.3, followed by France 6.4 – both remain on average EU, which is 6.6. Italy and Germany are estimated just above the average of the EU, while the UK is the highest satisfaction between the group.
For Great Britain, Germany, Iceland and Albania, numbers in 2018, and not in 2022.
Geographical trends in financial satisfaction
These grades show clear regional standards in financial satisfaction:
- The northern European countries, especially the Scandinavian countries, report the highest levels of satisfaction.
- The countries of Western Europe, as a rule, work well, which are from 6.8 to 7.6 – much higher than the average level in the EU of 6.6.
- The results are mixed in southern and eastern Europe, while the countries of the EU Candidates in the Balkans record the lowest grades.
- Two countries stand out as extreme: Romania (7), which is unexpectedly high, and Germany (6.8), which is relatively low satisfaction, despite its strong economy.
Financial satisfaction and net profit: Is there a relationship?
Of course, the ratings of economic satisfaction are based on research and reflect the perception of people. There is an extensive literature that explores factors that explain the satisfaction of the financial situation of a person: prosperity, general life or happiness. Several studies study the role of income and wealth, the cost of life and housing, social protection, employment and labor provision, as well as inflation and economic stability in explaining the results of satisfaction.
EURONEWS business has studied the correlation between financial satisfaction and Annual net earningsBoth in nominal terms and in purchasing standards (PPS). In general, this means that financial satisfaction has a tendency to be higher if net profit is higher.
About half of the differences (51%) in economic satisfaction between European countries can be explained by net profit in the euro. This suggests that the income explains a lot, but not all.
For example, it is not surprising that Türkiye and Bulgaria, which took the last places with satisfaction, also recorded the lowest net profit in 2022.
Romania (9,084 euros v. 7), Luxembourg (46,885 euros versus 6.8) and Germany (35,597 euros compared to 6.8) look like significant extreme prices that do not follow the general trend.
About 55% of the differences in financial satisfaction between these countries can be explained by income adapted to PPS, which is slightly higher than nominal income.
In addition to Romania and Luxembourg, Greece (19.250 PPS versus 5.3) and Ireland (29,700 PPS versus 6.8) also appear in the form of extreme prices. While households in Romania report a higher satisfaction than lower crazy incomes, the opposite is true for the other three countries.