Britain ‘one of loneliest countries in Europe’

London: Britain may have a solid economy but it is one of the loneliest countries in Europe, a survey suggests. Even the Germans, with a reputation for being aloof, are more likely to have friends they can rely on in a crisis.

However, the analysis by the office for National Statistics shows the Germans are less likely than the British to feel “close” to their neighbours. Britain is ranked 26th out of the 28 European Union countries by the proportion of the population who say they have someone on whom they could rely.

Only Denmark and France scored lower on that measure. But both countries showed significantly stronger neighbourhood ties than Britain.

The pattern emerges from a comparison of results from the “happiness” index and similar studies across Europe. Britain fares well in comparison with its neighbours on economic measures as well as having safer streets and better general health than other countries. It scores poorly on several environmental measures but fares well at recycling.

Overall Britons rate their general satisfaction more highly than average, with 71.8 per cent scoring it at seven or more out of 10, putting them 11th in the EU. More than eight out of 10 Britons (81.9 per cent) feel their life is generally “worthwhile”, ranking Britain above the EU average of 78.5 per cent.

In Greece, devastated by the financial crisis, fewer than half the population (47.8 per cent) believe life is worthwhile. Spain, in which youth unemployment reached almost 58 per cent this year, had one of the highest levels of satisfaction, being rated at eighth in the EU.

Significantly, Spain also had the fifth highest score for good neighbours. Only 58.4 per cent of Britons said they knew people in their community well.

Christian Guy, director of the Centre for Social Justice think tank, said: “There is something British about wanting to deal with problems yourself. Perhaps we internalise things and men think less about taking problems to others and try to take it all upon themselves.”