Geographies in Depth

What makes people happy in Europe’s most desirable countries?

This scale moves beyond rating countries on GDP alone and instead measures 44 different indicators.

Image: REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

The people of Norway have a lot to be happy about.

The country tops the table behind a new map showing the best European countries in which to live.

Image: jakubmarian.com

Jakub Marian’s map gives Norway top marks on a well-being scale developed by the Boston Consulting Group. This scale moves beyond rating countries on GDP alone and instead measures 44 different indicators.

The broadly content

Norwegians are content with their job prospects, the quality of housing stock and they feel safe in a country where crime is low. It helps that Norway is a beautiful country of dramatic coastal landscapes, pristine forests and clean, well-ordered cities. Norwegians rate the environment as one of the most significant factors driving their sense of well-being.

Germany, with a rating of 93.6, dominates a central bloc of nations that also sit high on the map of best European countries to live in. The populations of neighboring Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands complete the list of most desirable European states.

BCG’s Sustainable Economic Development Assessment (SEDA), measures well-being based on economics, investments and sustainability. These three elements are then broken down into ten dimensions that include employment prospects, healthcare and the environment.

Image: Boston Consulting Group

And the less so

The data behind the map reveals the full range of 'well-being' scores. Within Europe, the bottom three are Moldova, Montenegro and, in last place, Macedonia.

Accept our marketing cookies to access this content.

These cookies are currently disabled in your browser.

Have you read?

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Share:
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.