Why Europe is the best place to live

Many people in Europe live longer and better than people in most other areas of the world. A child born today in the European Union can expect to live well into their 80s, with some countries pushing even higher. Healthcare is widely accessible, infant mortality is among the lowest in the world, and decades of efforts to clean up the environment are resulting in healthier lives.

When comparing global outcomes, Europe’s lead is striking. “Parts of the Nordics and Southern Europe in particular have a life expectancy of up to five years more than in the United States, which is often considered to be the most advanced country in the world,” says Michael Stemmer, an economist at the European Investment Bank. “This is something we often forget when comparing these two economic areas.” These quiet achievements, built over time, shape everyday life and underline why Europeans score so high on general well-being.

Social investments represent a long-term strategy to take full advantage of human potential. “The better you adapt to technological change, the more productive and resilient you become in a dynamic, changing labour market,” Stemmer says. “Societies and economies that adapt more effectively to change are better positioned to innovate and remain competitive. I think this is really the link between social investment, growth, and, in the end, competitiveness.”

In most parts of Europe, opportunity is within reach. Education is widely available, from early childhood through to higher education, often without the burden of heavy debt. For many young Europeans, this means starting their working life without the financial pressures that are common elsewhere. It is a system that does not eliminate every barrier, but it lowers many of them.

The strength of Europe’s social model is also visible in something very tangible: people working. Across the European Union, employment has grown and more people are active than ever before. More women have careers, more older workers are staying engaged and demand for skills is steady across different economic sectors.

But the jobs themselves are changing. Over the past decade, economic activity has gradually shifted away from traditional industries towards sectors that rely more on knowledge and specialised skills, such as digital services, pharmaceuticals and high-tech manufacturing. The rapid spread of artificial intelligence is accelerating these changes, altering existing jobs and increasing the risk that some skills will become outdated. Learning new skills is becoming a constant process rather than a one-off phase, for young people starting their careers and for more experienced workers.

In a rapidly ageing society, keeping older workers healthy, skilled and engaged is an economic imperative. “As society ages, we will increasingly rely on people remaining in the workforce for longer,” says Václav Žďárek, a European Investment Bank economist. “If older workers are in better health and benefit from better living and working conditions, that is good for society. Their ability to remain productive for longer helps the economy become wealthier and, through knowledge transfer, may also make younger workers more productive.”