Geographies in Depth

Which is Europe’s most trusting country?

Danes have the most trust in other people, according to the OECD’s “How’s Life 2015” report.

The report assesses various measures of well-being across 11 indicators for European nations. This includes trust in others, in public institutions and in national governments.

The following graph shows the results for trust in others. It is based on a Eurostat survey, which asked respondents, “Would you say most people can be trusted?” Answers were given on a scale from 0-10, 0 being “you do not trust any other person” and 10 being “most people can be trusted”.

1510B40-europe trusting nations denmark finland norway

Finland takes 2nd place, with a score of 7.4, nearly a whole point behind Denmark. In 3rd place, and completing a Nordic clean sweep, is Norway with a score of 7.3. The least trusting nation is France with 5 points.

The chart highlights that, overall, European nations do trust others, with even the lowest score not below 5.

The report argues that trust is an important aspect of functioning communities and, more generally, how well people are able to live together. As such, it has a role to play in our overall well-being, both individually and as a society.

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Author: Joe Myers is a Digital Content Producer at Formative Content.

Image: People walk past clocks at Reuters Plaza in London. REUTERS/Jon Jones.

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