Residents of Aberdeenshire have the best quality of life in Scotland

For the second year running, residents of Aberdeenshire have the best quality of life in Scotland, according to the annual Bank of Scotland Quality of Life Survey.

The Bank of Scotland Quality of Life Survey has placed Aberdeenshire in the top spot based on residents' health and life expectancy, employment, school performance and climate.

Why Aberdeenshire is a great place to live:

Residents tend to be fit and well - 93% reporting good health

There is a higher than average life expectancy (78 years).

The employment rate is high, at 80%, with many residents enjoying high incomes with weekly average earnings of £1,018.

The level of school qualifications is above the national average - 83% achieve five or more SCQF level 4 awards compared to the Scotland average of 78%.

Residents also enjoy a relatively good climate - less rainfall per year (999 mm against the Scotland average of 1,295 mm) and slightly more weekly sunshine hours (25.5 hours against the Scotland average of 24.9).

The Shetland Islands are second in the survey followed by East Dunbartonshire and East Lothian. All three are in the top 10 Scottish areas for weekly annual earnings (ranging from £576 to £670).

Houses in East Dunbartonshire, Western Isles and Stirling (all 4.9) are on average bigger than the average for Scotland (with 4.9 rooms against the Scotland average of 4.6). Residents of East Lothian enjoy some of the best weather in Scotland, with an annual average rainfall of 791 mm and an average of 26.5 hours of sunshine per week.

 Nitesh Patel, economist at the Bank of Scotland, commented: "Aberdeenshire again tops the Bank of Scotland Quality of Life Survey for 2010. Aberdeenshire scores highly relative to the average for Scotland on several indicators, such as health, life expectancy, employment, average earnings, school results and climate.

"Two of the top 10 areas for quality of life lie off the Scottish mainland - the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands - and five are in the north of the country. These areas score well on high employment rates, low population densities and burglary rates, small class sizes and good secondary school exam results."