Results of the Quality of Life Index 2024. The scissors between the quality of life of cities are opening up

Where is the best place to live in the Czech Republic? For the seventh time, the "Municipalities in Data" project provides an answer to this question. The Quality of Life Index compares conditions in 206 cities across three key areas: health and environment, material security and education, and relationships and services. Tracking a seven-year time series allows not only to analyse the current situation, but also to reveal long-term trends, extreme fluctuations and possible future scenarios.

The most recent results yield disturbing findings. The disparities between cities are widening. While some regions are experiencing growth and prosperity, others are facing stagnation, which threatens social cohesion and the development of the entire Czech Republic.

How do we measure quality of life?

The Quality of Life Index is based on an analysis of 80 data sources, which are divided into 29 sub-indices. The methodology draws inspiration from OECD and UN approaches, with each index having a weight corresponding to its importance for quality of life. For example, factors such as life expectancy, unemployment, housing affordability or air pollution have a key influence on the final ranking.

In addition to the data for the cities themselves, the ranking also includes their commuting regions, as quality of life is not isolated to a single location. To improve accuracy, we use foreign sources in addition to Czech ones, such as the OpenStreetMap database, which improves the analysis of accessibility to services in border areas.

New this year is the introduction of the Safety Index, which replaces the previous Traffic Accident Index and looks at a wider range of factors such as offences and crime.

Key findings

1. Top- and bottom-ranked cities

The city with the highest quality of life was Říčany for the seventh time. On the other hand, cities from border areas and inner peripheries, such as the Ore Mountains, Jeseníky and North Bohemian Foothills regions, are at the bottom of the ranking.

The data also show that the gap between the cities at the top and the bottom of the ranking is widening. This trend weakens regional cohesion in the long term and hampers the development of less prosperous parts of the country.

2. Regional disparities in quality of life

The highest values of the index are concentrated around Prague and Brno. Other well-rated areas include the South Bohemia Region and the Hradec-Pardubice agglomeration. On the other hand, the peripheral regions of the Czech Republic show weaker results, with the most frequent problems relating to:

- lower accessibility to healthcare
- lower supply of (well-paid) jobs
- poorer availability of services
- weaker educational results

3. Availability of health care

Although the number of doctors in the Czech Republic has increased by 4% over the last 5 years, their distribution is uneven. The number of doctors is decreasing in 59 towns (mainly smaller ones), which affects the inhabitants of the periphery the most. On the other hand, metropolitan areas, especially around Brno, have seen a significant increase in the number of doctors.

At the same time, however, average life expectancy has improved, especially for women, by 0.4 years since 2018. Air pollution remains a problem, which is still significantly higher than the national average in some regions, especially in the Moravian-Silesian Region.

4. Availability of housing and education

- Transaction prices of real estate are rising faster than wages, further reducing housing affordability. The largest price increases have been recorded in towns such as Říčany, Pohořelice and Králíky.

- The number of quality secondary schools has fallen by 8%, increasing educational inequalities between regions and secondarily affecting the displacement of affected areas 

5. Population migration

Total population growth is returning to long-term levels after a significant increase last year due to the migration wave from Ukraine. Migration is playing a key role, with most smaller towns experiencing a decline, particularly of younger residents.

The main challenge - the opening scissors between cities

Data shows that the gap between prosperous and lagging regions is widening. This imbalance not only hinders the development of less developed areas, but also weakens the overall potential of the Czech Republic. The widening of the gap is most evident between the 20 cities with the highest and lowest quality of life, and the intensity of the "distance" has increased with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unless targeted measures are taken to support peripheral regions, we risk further talent drain, increasing social tensions and weakening citizens' trust in state institutions. In some localities, a tipping point may be crossed from which there will be no return.

Conclusion

The Quality of Life Index provides valuable data to support both regional development and strategic planning for individual cities. But it also reveals deeper problems that cannot be ignored. Promoting regional cohesion should be a priority not only for local authorities but also for government policy. And not just in the form of public proclamations, but concrete actions.