In comparison with other regions, Western European cities saw few changes to quality of living between 2008 and 2009. In fact, the overall standard of living remains far above the world’s average. In spite of the world’s current economic challenges, most of the changes that occurred in Western Europe were positive and covered a range of factors, including schools, housing, recreation and public services.

Not every region fared well, however. Athens actually saw a decline in quality of living in the past year. Greece experienced a decrease in political stability, following a series of widespread strikes and demonstrations at the end of 2008 and in 2009. These included violent protests that took place in Athens, as well as public-sector strikes in response to privatisation and proposed pension reforms. The country also suffered setbacks when wildfires occurred in areas surrounding Athens, threatening the Greece’s natural environment.

On a brighter note, quality of living continues to rise in many Eastern European cities, such as Belgrade (Serbia), Pristina (Kosovo), Tallinn (Estonia), Prague (Czech Republic) and Ljubljana (Slovenia). Also noteworthy is that use of the euro continued to expand, with Slovakia adopting the euro as its currency in January 2009. Eastern European cities, which have maintained political stability in recent years, have witnessed the greatest improvements in quality of living.

Those countries that have not maintained political stability – for example, Georgia, Latvia and Ukraine – have suffered as a result. Internal problems, coupled with the impact of the global financial crisis, have proved to be significant barriers to increasing the quality of living in these nations.