For the second time in a row, the Central Bohemian town of Říčany can boast the highest quality of life. Přelouč in the Pardubice Region recorded the most significant improvement compared to last year – it jumped 88 places up in the ranking. The Moravian-Silesian town of Orlová took last place again. These are the conclusions of the second annual Quality of Life Index. It was prepared by Obce v datech (“Municipalities in Data”) with Deloitte as its primary consulting partner.
The Quality of Life Index compares publicly available data of all 206 Czech municipalities with extended administrative powers.It comprises a total of 29 variables expressing the standard of health, the environment and the availability of health care, optimal material conditions (work, housing, education), sufficiency of services and relations within the community (for example in the form of the existence of local associations etc.). Analysts work with big data collected from the internet and the public sector. They do not evaluate the municipalities subjectively, they merely compare the availability in each of them based on the principles of UN and OECD methodologies validated by Deloitte.
“Given the growing prices of real estate in the Czech Republic, we want to help people make informed decisions when selecting a place to live. I consider the optimal ratio of costs of living and quality of life the most important. We also aim to provide the mayors with data to support their future decisions,” says Pavel Šiška, Managing Partner of Consulting, Deloitte.
Prague, Brno and their surroundings have continuously recorded the highest quality of life. South, South-West and Central Bohemia also achieved very good results. Prague, Brno, Plzeň, Pardubice and Hradec Králové dominate among regional cities.
“Municipalities from structurally affected regions have the lowest rating, i.e. from the Moravian-Silesian, Ústí nad Labem and Karlovy Vary Regions. Most municipalities in these regions have a large percentage of inhabitants with financial problems and a high unemployment rate compared to the rest of the Czech Republic. In the Ústí nad Labem and Moravian-Silesian Regions, there is also a comparatively high level of air pollution,” says Jan Havránek, statutory executive of Obce v datech, commenting on the results.
The first and second places and the last two remain unchanged compared to 2018. The best improvement was recorded in Přelouč, which moved up by 88 places. This was due to an improvement of conditions in the area of migration of young people, gambling and average life expectancy. On a regional level, municipalities in the Zlín and South Moravian Regions saw the most significant improvements.
The most significant slump was recorded by Železný Brod, especially with respect to the indicators of gambling, migrating young people, paediatricians and unemployment. On the regional level, municipalities in the Karlovy Vary Region show the larges decrease.
More details about the project of Obce v datech and Deloitte including a link to this year’s and last year’s results are available here.
Top ten and bottom ten municipalities in the Quality of Life Index 2019:
| Rank 2019 (2018) | Municipality | Region | Index 2019 (2018) |
| 1 (1) | Říčany | Central Bohemian | 10.0 (10.0) |
| 2 (2) | Prague | Capital | 9.7 (9.8) |
| 3 (9) | Hustopeče | South Moravian | 8.1 (7.3) |
| 4 (3) | Černošice | Central Bohemian | 8.0 (8.3) |
| 5 (7) | Brandýs nad Labem – Stará Boleslav | Central Bohemian | 7.7 (7.5) |
| 6 (16) | Brno | South Moravian | 7.7 (6.8) |
| 7 (14) | Židlochovice | South Moravian | 7.2 (6.9) |
| 8 (6) | Beroun | Central Bohemian | 7.2 (7.5) |
| 9 (27) | Šlapanice | South Moravian | 7.2 (6.6) |
| 10 (12) | Litomyšl | Pardubice | 7.1 (6.9) |
| 197 (196) | Rumburk | Ústí nad Labem | 2.1 (2.3) |
| 198 (199) | Podbořany | Ústí nad Labem | 2.1 (2.1) |
| 199 (197) | Odry | Moravian-Silesian | 2.0 (2.3) |
| 200 (192) | Krnov | Moravian-Silesian | 1.8 (2.6) |
| 201 (198) | Broumov | Hradec Králové | 1.8 (2.1) |
| 202 (204) | Vítkov | Moravian-Silesian | 1.3 (1.3) |
| 203 (202) | Litvínov | Ústí nad Labem | 1.0 (1.5) |
| 204 (203) | Most | Ústí nad Labem | 1.0 (1.3) |
| 205 (205) | Karviná | Moravian-Silesian | 0.3 (0.2) |
| 206 (206) | Orlová | Moravian-Silesian | 0.0 (0.0) |
The most significant year-on-year improvement and decline:
| Change in rank | Municipality | Region | Rank 2019 (2018) | Index 2019 (2018) |
| + 88 | Přelouč | Pardubice | 61 (149) | 5.6 (4.2) |
| + 78 | Šternberk | Olomouc | 87 (165) | 5.1 (3.6) |
| + 69 | Pohořelice | South Moravian | 48 (117) | 5.7 (4.7) |
| + 64 | Otrokovice | Zlín | 77 (141) | 5.2 (4.3) |
| + 58 | Nepomuk | Plzeň | 78 (136) | 5.2 (4.4) |
| – 79 | Železný Brod | Liberec | 125 (46) | 4.5 (5.9) |
| – 61 | Sušice | Plzeň | 140 (79) | 4.2 (5.3) |
| – 54 | Kralovice | Plzeň | 149 (95) | 4.1 (5.1) |
| – 53 | Dvůr Králové nad Labem | Hradec Králové | 139 (86) | 4.3 (5.2) |
| – 52 | Cheb | Karlovy Vary | 144 (92) | 4.2 (5.1) |