We've all had an occasional moan about the weather, or about how little time off we get from work. Many of us, though, assume that these are just facts of life - frustrating but unchangeable features of existence in this country. A new study by uSwitch, however, suggests that such factors, when considered in context, contribute to a worrying conclusion: the UK has the lowest quality of life among similar countries in Europe.

The study, which is conducted by uSwitch, compares 10 developed countries in the continent, and takes into account a variety of factors - from retirement age to the cost of living. The UK finished tenth in the index, far behind France (where quality of life is highest), and even countries such as Italy and Ireland, which have struggled economically of late.

While the UK's economic strength is notable (our average household income is around £7,000 higher than that of France), quality of life suffers due to a number of other factors. Brits have 5.5 fewer days of holiday per annum than the European average, and have benefit from relatively few hours of sunshine each year. In addition, UK government spending on education and spend on health as a percentage of total GDP are both below the European mean.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, over one in ten respondents from the UK said that are "seriously considering" emigrating. 7% said that France was the country they would most like to live in, a figure only bettered by Spain (13%). Those living in Spain enjoy, on average, 39 days of holiday per year (the most in Europe), and pay relatively little for food and alcohol. That, coupled with the glorious sunshine for which the country is known, makes Spain a popular choice among those fed up with the long hours and rainy weather that abide in the UK.