The Quality of Life of the Population as an Indicator of Social Development (on the Example of a Sociological Study in the Kulundinsky district of the Altai Territory)

Abstract

The article discusses the main approaches to the interpretation of the concepts of quality and standard of living of the population. The characteristic of the quality of life of the population is given on the example of one of the districts of the Altai Territory. The problem is considered through a number of objective and subjective features. The subject of the work is the quality of life as an indicator of the social development of the Kulundinsky district of the Altai Territory. Within the framework of this article, the quality of life is understood as a phenomenon of a socio-economic nature that incorporates elements of the surrounding world, as well as subjective satisfaction with a number of systems of functioning of society, which can be qualitatively and quantitatively sociologically expressed and investigated. The authors identified the main components of the quality of life of the population: the economic condition of the district, social indicators and the infrastructure of the district. Such methods of sociological research as in-depth interviews and questionnaires were used in the work, which make it possible to obtain the greatest amount of information, identify certain patterns and features. The main conclusions of the study are that according to objective indicators, the quality of life of the population is at an average level, and according to subjective indicators, at a high level, which gives reason to form an overall assessment of the quality of life of the population of Kulunda district above average. The hypothesis of determining the assessment of the quality of life is largely confirmed by subjective indicators, because despite a number of difficulties, the population as a whole assesses their own quality of life as good and very good in most cases, moreover, over the past year, a significant part of the population began to live objectively worse. Special attention should be paid to the self-assessment of the quality of life by the population of the Kulunda district, which requires further study.