03 Aug 2023 at 00:03
The inhabitants of Friesland prove that money does not necessarily bring happiness. They are above average satisfied with their lives, while the Randstad and North Brabant are significantly richer.
Metropolitan areas near Amsterdam, Utrecht and Delft produce a relatively large amount of value, the gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP of poorer regions in the Northern Netherlands, the Achterhoek and Southwest Overijssel contrasts sharply with this. But that doesn’t mean people have it any worse there.
In Friesland, the difference between value and happiness is most striking, conclude researchers from Statistics Netherlands. The GDP per capita there was 34,800 euros per inhabitant in 2021, while it was 49,100 nationally. Only in Drenthe was GDP even lower.
Yet almost nowhere in the Netherlands are residents so satisfied. This is because Frisians have relatively much contact with friends, family or neighbours. They also experience good health on average and are satisfied with their home. Furthermore, there is a lot of nature and few emissions.
What is broad welfare at the regional level?
The quality of life here and now. Factors that play a role include health, safety, the housing market, unemployment and trust in others. The availability of resources later. How sustainable is the broad prosperity? For example, the debts of households, nature reserves, emissions of particulate matter and level of education are examined.
What is Narrow Prosperity?
Narrow wealth is about matter. This is measured, among other things, on the basis of gross domestic product per capita. This also includes disposable income per household.
North Frisians are the most satisfied Dutch people
In North Friesland, the inhabitants are most satisfied with their lives. However, life expectancy is somewhat lower and relatively fewer people work there. As a result, that part of the province scores lower on broad prosperity ‘here and now’.
Regions that score well on quality of life include North Drenthe, North Overijssel, the east of North Brabant and the province of Utrecht. There are also areas that have many positive and negative outliers in terms of broad prosperity, such as Greater Amsterdam.
City dwellers have less good health than rural dwellers
The Northern Netherlands scores above average on health, with the exception of the northeastern part of the region. The eastern edge of the Netherlands has the most negative outliers. In addition, residents of cities have, on average, less good health than those living in rural areas.
People in the city also have less money left over and their environment is less clean and safe. City dwellers are, on average, better educated and have a lower body weight. In rural communities, residents enjoy more nature and cleaner air.
Then there are areas where prosperity scores high in the long term, such as Friesland, West Groningen, Flevoland and South Zeeland. For example, clean air, debt and health play a role in this. Regions in South Holland, North Holland and the south of Limburg score low in the long term.
2023-08-02 22:03:59
#Quality #life #related #wealth #region #Economy
