Quality of Life Under Pressure: Spatial Inequalities Across European Countries in the Age of Polycrisis

The study aims to examine the spatiotemporal aspects of quality-of-life differentiation across European countries in 2018 and 2023, with consideration of the potential impacts of the polycrisis. Specifically, we identify and quantify the key determinants of quality of life and the latent factors shaping it. We also assess the potential shifts that occurred between 2018 and 2023, as well as whether and to what extent disparities among the observed countries have deepened or diminished. The research is based on a set of 27 quality-of-life indicators grouped into eight thematic domains, following the Eurostat database section titled Quality of Life (QoL). To evaluate and compare QoL across countries, the study employs a scoring method, correlation and regression analyses, and principal component analysis (PCA). The results confirm the existence of a northwest– southeast axis of differentiation among European countries. The highest levels of quality of life are consistently observed in Switzerland, Norway, and the countries of Northern and Western Europe, whereas those of Southern and Southeastern Europe remain at the opposite end of the spectrum. PCA results reveal the dominance of factors associated with material living conditions, the working environment, and socio-cultural participation. The analysis demonstrates that the polycrisis has affected the hierarchy of individual expectations. These changes are corroborated by both correlation and PCA analyses, which indicate an increased importance of indicators reflecting economic resilience. Specifically, in high-welfare countries, the polycrisis has reduced the relative importance of satisfaction and happiness (a decline in the significance of indicators C and ZA), whereas in economically weaker countries it has heightened the emphasis on material security and resistance to financial shocks. Quality of life in the context of a polycrisis is therefore not merely a reflection of economic parameters but also of the resilience of social and institutional structures within individual countries.The findings suggest that the polycrisis has not led to a convergence in living conditions; on the contrary, it has often exacerbated disparities in quality of life, primarily through the deterioration of economic security and subjective well-being.