WELL-BEING IN SLOVENIA AND THE EU

Well-being and its changes in Slovenia compared to the EU are shown with headline indicators by areas and subareas for 2011, 2012 and 2013. Progress (+), decline (-) and stagnation (o) are estimated year-on-year and presented so as to show the trends in the observed year compared to the previous year. The stagnation mark does not necessarily mean that the results in the current year are exactly the same as in the previous year, but that changes are so minute that they do not reflect a reliable progress or decline. Indicators showing decline do not indicate only the widening of the gap but also the reduction in Slovenia’s advantage over the EU average before 2011. Indicators showing progress show Slovenia’s improvement over the EU average.

Table: Changes in the position of well-being in Slovenia compared to the EU, shown with headline indicators by areas and subareas, 2011–2013

AREA, SUBAREA, HEADLINE INDICATOR	SLOVENIA vs. EU
AREA, SUBAREA, HEADLINE INDICATOR	2011	2012	2013
MATERIAL WELL-BEING
Income of the population: Gross adjusted disposable income of households and NPISH per capita, in PPS	o	-	o
Property of the population and economic security: Household financial assets per capita, in EUR	-	-	-
Poverty and social exclusion: At-risk-of-poverty rate, in %	-	o	-
Consumption: Final consumption expenditure of households and NPISH per capita, national concept, in PPS	-	-	-
Work and employment: Employment rate for the population aged 20−64 years, in %	-	o	-
Housing: Housing deprivation rate, in %	-	+	+
SOCIAL WELL-BEING
Satisfaction/happiness: Life satisfaction, in %	-	+	-
Education: Share of the population with at least upper secondary education, in %	+	-	-
Health: Life expectancy at birth (men, women), number of years	+	o
Social climate: Trust in institutions – parliament, in %	-	+	-
Personal security: Mortality due to assault per 100,000 inhabitants, number	-	+
Communication: Broadband Internet access in households, in %	-	+	-
Culture and leisure: Satisfaction with distribution of time, average assessment		+
ENVIRONMENTAL WELL-BEING
Land and ecosystems: Farmland birds index, index	-	+
Air: Urban population exposure to air pollution by particulate matter, in µg/m3	-	+
Water: Nitrates in groundwater, in mg/l	-	+
Climate: Severe weather warnings, number of days per year	+	-	+
Energy sources: Share of renewables in gross final energy consumption, in %	-	-	+
Non-energy sources: Domestic material consumption per person, in kg	+	+	+
Waste: Landfilled municipal waste per capita, in kg	+	+	+

Legend: improvement of Slovenia compared to the EU average (+, green), deterioration of Slovenia compared to the EU average (-, red), stagnation (o, orange), no data (empty, white).

Until the onset of the economic crisis, Slovenia's position compared to the European Union was improving, since in many subareas of well-being it was drawing closer to the EU average and in some cases even exceeded it. During the crisis Slovenia’s position as regards material and social well-being started to decline for two reasons. The first one is the depth of the crisis, which affected Slovenia more than most of the other EU Member States, and the second one is the duration of the crisis, since economic activity in Slovenia was declining up to 2013, while in the EU overall it started to bounce back already in 2010. As regards material well-being, Slovenia’s position in the 2011–2013 period was declining in all subareas, except in housing. As regards social well-being, the decline started in 2013, while as regards environmental well-being, Slovenia’s position was improving in the 2011–2013 period partly due to reduced economic activity.