Territorial Variation of Energy Poverty and Good Health and Well-Being in European Union Countries—A Spatial Analysis

Energy poverty (EP) is a complex socio-economic phenomenon of growing importance in European Union (EU) countries. The level of EP, along with the health of the population and the level of perceived well-being (H&W), is a fundamental element of socioeconomic development and a determinant of the quality of life of individuals and entire societies. In this study, two main research objectives were set: a comparison of country classification results obtained using a classical method (QGIS) and a method based on artificial intelligence (SOM) and assessment of the complementarity of both approaches in studying the diversity of EU countries in terms of EP and H&W. The classification results made it possible to demonstrate changes in the studied phenomena over time. The analysis was carried out using data from the Eurostat database from 2019 and 2023. The results presented in this study indicate that countries with the highest EP levels are located in two distinct regions: Eastern and Southern Europe. Countries with the lowest EP levels are located in Northern and Central Europe. In the case of H&W, higher levels were observed in northern and western European countries, while lower levels were observed in eastern and central European countries. The use of an AI-based method in socio-economic research and the comparison of the results with those obtained using the traditional method provides a more complete picture of the diversity of EU countries in terms of EP and H&W, broadening knowledge in empirical and methodological terms.