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Its no surprise that Spain is one of the best
places in the world to live.
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Even though overall life satisfaction was down globally – a
mood swing likely caused by the never-ending economic problems of the world –
Spain performed quite well in several areas. These great results included
topping the table on work-life balance, the sense of community, and health and
safety.
The Better Life Index ranks the 34 most stable and rich
nations the world over and ranks them based a number of topics including:
Income, Housing, Community, Jobs, Environment, Education, Civic Engagement, Life Satisfaction, Health, Safety, and Work-Life Balance.
While Spain didn’t perform too well on some indices, such as
jobs and income, in general life Spain is better than the OECD average.
The index results make for an interesting read. In terms of
income the average disposable income of a Spanish household was €16,962, which
was just below the €17,111 OECD average. There is also quite a divide between
the richest and poorest people in Spain; the top 20 of Spanish earners are six
times richer than the bottom 20%.
Spain also ranked just below the OECD average in employment
levels. The results show that 58% of the working-age people in Spain have a
paid job. This is a little below the 66% average. The study also shows that the
Spanish work less hours than average. Spaniards work for an average of 1,690
hours in a year which is slightly less than the 1,776 average. Spain also
performed a little blow par in education. Only 53% of adults aged between 25
and 64 hold a degree in Spain, which is significantly lower than the 74% OECD
average.
The Good News
The good news is that, even though it’s bad that Spain has
low job prospects and earnings, along with less highly educated people, the
OECD study showcased how strong Spanish lifestyle and culture is. Spain has one
of the longest life expectancies in the world; the Spanish life expectancy is
82 years; higher than the 80 years OECD average.
Spain also did well in terms of community. Spaniards are
generally gregarious and friendly. They also possess a strong sense of civic
duty that led to Spain doing well in this area. 93% of Spanish people said that
they had someone they could call on if they found themselves in need; higher
than the OECD average of 90%.
Spain also topped the tables in terms of the work-life
balance; scoring a 9.1 out of 10.
Spain performed above average overall when compared to other
nations in the Better Life Index. The cultural strength of the country made up
for the shortcomings that gotten worse since the economy went down. Even though
Spain still has some economic problems it remains one of the safest country in
the world. Spain has the eighth-lowest homicide rate, great gender equality
levels, low cost of living and an overall widespread sense of personal security is felt by every
Spaniard.
