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1. Life satisfaction in the transition region

Life satisfaction in the transition region

Using data from all three rounds of the Life in Transition Survey (LiTS), this chapter analyses the factors influencing life satisfaction in the transition region, studies its evolution over the past decade and investigates whether or not there has been a process of convergence towards the levels in western European comparator countries. Based on the latest available data, the chapter concludes that the life satisfaction gap between the transition region and western European comparator countries has finally closed.

Less than
20%
of respondents in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Tajikistan report that their family can afford a one-week holiday each year.

The findings from LiTS III suggest that the happiness gap has finally been closed between western Europe and the transition region as a whole, both in terms of living standards and life satisfaction.