According to the new “home index” from the Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken, Bavaria’s citizens are still more satisfied with their living conditions than the population in the rest of Germany. But satisfaction fell sharply in some areas, as the Bavarian Cooperative Association (GVB) announced on Tuesday in Munich. This includes both the condition of the environment and satisfaction with infrastructure and transport.
The home index follows the model of the indices common in the financial industry. However, it is not economic data that is asked for, but rather satisfaction with one’s own life and living conditions in several subcategories. These include, among other things, general life satisfaction, friends, family situation, job and financial situation. The opinion research institute GMS Dr. Jung surveyed a total of 2,007 people in and outside of Bavaria in two waves at the beginning and end of June. The latter serves as a comparison with the rest of Germany.
Accordingly, the “home index” this summer was overall at 66 points, and “general life satisfaction” in Bavaria was at 74 points. That is 15 points more than in the rest of Germany. However, there are regional differences: the most satisfied are the Upper Franconians and the Lower Franconians, who awarded a balance of 77 and 75 points respectively. In Middle Franconia and Upper Palatinate, however, the “home index” was lowest at 72 points, while the other three administrative districts ranked in the middle.
However, citizens’ satisfaction with the transport infrastructure in Bavaria fell by a national average of ten to 47 points. The state of the environment was rated at 57 points, five fewer than last. Health care and shopping facilities were also rated worse than before. “The Bavarians are satisfied overall, but they are increasingly assessing their environment and the local infrastructure more critically,” summarized GVB President Gregor Scheller. Scheller assumes that the declining satisfaction with the transport infrastructure could be due to chronic delays in public transport as well as construction sites and traffic jams on the roads.
When it comes to the state of the environment, younger people aged 16 to 34 seem to be particularly concerned, and according to the GVB, they gave much lower scores than other age groups. However, high inflation and a weak economy have apparently had no effect on life satisfaction so far. The sub-index “Job and personal financial situation” remained unchanged at 64 points. As before, the personal living environment with relationships with friends and family recorded the highest value with 75 points.