Quality of Life as a Limiting Factor in the Development of the Region along the Great Bačka Canal (Serbia)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study of the regional–demographic characteristics and the quality of life of the population of Central Bačka, carried out in five municipalities along the Great Bačka Canal (June–August 2022). It included 870 respondents (0.5% of the total adult population). This is a region that has considerable potential for satisfaction with quality of life; however, the studied area has undergone socioeconomic stagnation, so it was necessary to analyze the effect that the activities of all the existing natural and anthropogenic elements could have on mitigating the negative trends of development in an area where the staple of the economy is agricultural production and which was one of the most-developed areas in Serbia. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that impact the perceptions of the population regarding quality of life in the settlements of Central Bačka to define measures that could improve their quality of life. The hypothesis was that, based on the identified factors, the population is not satisfied with their quality of life, which could have a significant impact on demographic trends; there are statistically significant differences in the attitudes of the respondents surrounding basic standard-of-living elements, depending on their sociodemographic characteristics. The instrument used in the study consisted of two parts. The first part of the questionnaire was designed to compile the sociodemographic features of the participants, and the second part was used to study the indicators that determine quality of life. The non-parametric techniques used in this study were the Mann–Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The results indicated a medium or low degree of satisfaction with most of the indicators, confirming the proposed hypothesis regarding differences in the subjective perception of well-being compared to the sociodemographic characteristics of the studied population.