Eurostat presented the first survey of quality of life in Europe which is expected to update existing indicators of economic and social development focused on gross domestic product.
"The objective is to shed light on what could impact upon the quality of life, ranging from the educational level, the activity and health status to the family and financial situation," said Walter Radermacher, Director-General of Eurostat.
Life satisfaction is measured in a number of categories, including life overall satisfaction, personal relationships, accommodation, health, financial situation, time use, and living environment.
Respondents were aged 16 and over and graded satisfaction on a scale from 0 (not satisfied at all) to 10 (fully satisfied). The survey refers to 2013.
With life overall satisfaction graded with 6.3, Croatia is among the member states with the least satisfied citizens. The lowest grade was recorded in Bulgaria (4.8), followed by Greece, Cyprus, Hungary and Portugal (6.2).
Danish, Finnish and Swedish citizens were most satisfied (8).
The life overall satisfaction on the EU level was 7.3. EU citizens were most satisfied with personal relationships, more than with life overall satisfaction. They were least satisfied with the financial situation.
Croatians were also least satisfied with their financial situation (4.6). Bulgaria fared worst in this category (3.7), followed by Greece (4.3) and Portugal (4.5), while Sweden and Denmark fared best (7.6).
The financial situation accounted for the biggest differences between the member states, while they agreed most in job and time use satisfaction.
Croatians were also dissatisfied with green and recreational areas satisfaction (5.8), similarly to Cypriots, Greek, Hungarians, Portuguese and Slovaks.