‘Healthiest’ city in Europe is the ‘perfect place’ to retire
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New research found that Sweden could be one of the best destinations for British expats who are looking to relocate to another country in the New Year and its capital, Stockholm, is a vibrant and scenic option for retirees. However, the Scandinavian country is not the most peaceful or safest, another study revealed.
The beautiful city of Stockholm is one of the best options for expats to move to and visitors shared their thoughts on the travel platform Tripadvisor.
Most said the capital of Sweden is a “scenic” destination, “such an amazing place” and the “perfect place” to visit, especially during the summer months.
User @dragonflyazul commented Stockholm’s old town is “a glorious labyrinth of charming cobbled streets, alleyways, faded mustard and rust-coloured townhouses and meeting squares”.
“Beautiful and interesting buildings, and museums. It is connected by several small bridges to the city centre and other surrounding islands and lot of cafés and restaurants are available.”
However, in terms of safety, the 2022 Global Peace Index named Iceland the most peaceful country in the world for expats, a position it has held since 2008. New Zealand came second and Ireland third while Sweden ranked in position 26.
The study analysed the current trends in peace, economic values and how peaceful societies develop.
To measure the state of peace in a country they looked at the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization.
The new study by Snuff Store revealed that Sweden is the healthiest country in Europe, after analysing the percentage of the population that smoke, the obesity rate, the life expectancy and the litres of alcohol drunk per year, per capita.
Other factors that the study took into account are the percentage of the population reporting chronic depression, the number of doctors per 1,000 people and the percentage of the population that are inefficiently physically active.
Each country was given a score out of 10 for each factor, and the nation with the highest score, and therefore the healthiest, was Sweden.
Sweden has the lowest number of smokers in Europe, the second-highest life expectancy at 83 years old and one of the lowest obesity rates.
The nation was followed by neighbour Finland, which also has very low smoking rates, with under 10 percent of the population being smokers.
The country also has low obesity rates and high life expectancy, at 82 years old, and the Finnish are also one of the most physically active.
Surprisingly, Moldova, in Eastern Europe, is the third healthiest country due to its low obesity rates. The percentage of people in Moldova who are insufficiently active is the lowest in Europe, according to the WHO.
A spokesperson from Snuff Store explained that in Scandinavia, the low levels of smoking “can be partly put down to the availability of smokeless nicotine products that have helped bring smoking levels down and thus medical issues associated with cigarettes”.
“Overall Europe has some clear health indicators that give insight into the consistent work that Governments are doing to create healthier nations. However, there is still plenty of action that people can take to increase their personal health and live longer and better lives,” they said.
Healthiest countries in Europe
- Sweden
- Finland
- Moldova
- Belarus
- Norway
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- France
- Belgium
- United Kingdom
Most peaceful countries
- Iceland
- New Zealand
- Ireland
- Denmark
- Austria
- Portugal
- Slovenia
- Czech Republic
- Singapore
- Japan
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