The wellbeing of Slovenia's population by region: comparison of indicators with an emphasis on health

Abstract

In broader definitions, wellbeing is commonly described as a multidimensional concept, defined by the state of happiness, health, and prosperity. However, due to various understandings of conceptual issues regarding wellbeing, professionals encounter a number of methodological problems connected with measuring it. Composite indicators are thus being increasingly used to measure population's wellbeing. Health is an important area of wellbeing and is connected with indicators similar to those used for measuring general wellbeing. This article uses composite indicators to compare various areas of wellbeing, and especially health-related wellbeing, among the twelve Slovenian statistical regions. The findings show great differences between Slovenian regions. In western Slovenia (the Central Slovenia, Soča, Coastal-Karst, and Upper Carniola regions), the level of wellbeing is generally high, and in eastern Slovenia (the Carinthia, Lower Sava, Mura, and Central Sava regions) it is lower. Except for minor deviations, the level of general wellbeing in the regions matches the level of health-related wellbeing.

Keywords

• geography
• medicine
• population's wellbeing
• composite wellbeing indicator
• health
• region
• mental disorder