Tirana is ranked in the 10 worst European cities for the satisfaction of living, where only 66 percent of the respondents responded positively. The Albanian capital is at the bottom of the list with Istanbul, Athens and Palermo. 

The survey included 83 cities, mainly from the countries of the European Union, the capitals of the Western Balkans, Iceland and Turkey, where citizens were asked how satisfied they are with life in the city where they lived based on several criteria such as infrastructure, employment opportunities, environment, etc.

"Cities in the Western Balkans and Turkey have the lowest percentages (65% and 74%, respectively), while those in the EFTA countries and the United Kingdom have the highest percentages (87%)," the report states. 

The survey draws conclusions on residents' perception of the standard of living for different social groups such as families with children, the elderly, immigrants and the LGBTQ community. 

The Albanian capital performed poorly for all these groups compared to EU cities, being ranked in the penultimate place for the quality of life for families with small children and also for the LGBTQ community, leaving only one city behind in Turkey. 

According to the report, many issues related to the quality of life such as housing costs, clean air, cultural life, transportation, employment opportunities, safety, etc., depend on where a person lives and that is why the place where they live people affects the quality of their lives. 

People were asked about their satisfaction with living with a number of characteristics of city life, such as inclusiveness, loneliness, employment, safety, housing, environment, transport, culture, city services and corruption. 

Zurich, Switzerland is the best city to live in according to the survey with around 97% of residents satisfied with living in the city, followed by Copenhagen, Denmark and Groningen, Netherlands. 

The survey was conducted by IPSOS at the request of the European Commission's Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy between January and April 2023. It includes cities in the Member States of the European Union and cities in Albania, Iceland, Montenegro, Norway, North Macedonia , Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. 

Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, in the introduction of the report, evaluates the positive perception of the quality of life in the cities of EU countries, where 9 out of 10 people are satisfied with living in their cities. 

But she adds that "there is still work to be done" in improving quality of life and that, "there is still a north/south gap, with the lowest satisfaction reported in the South - and particularly in survey cities outside the EU ". 

She lists 3 key factors that influence this perception, such as employment opportunities, public services starting with transportation, schools, hospitals, etc., and population size, as small towns appear better on the list.

(Source: BIRN)