Which are the Best Countries in Europe?

Social & Moral Development Index1
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank1
1	Denmark	27.0
2	Norway	29.9
3	Sweden	31.8
4	Switzerland	32.6
5	Netherlands	33.3
6	Finland	33.4
7	Austria	36.2
8	Germany	37.6
9	Ireland	37.8
10	Belgium	39.4
	...
47	Belarus	87.7
48	Azerbaijan	95.0
49	Vatican City	142.5
	Europe Avg	55.7
	World Avg	88.6
q=49.

Human rights, equality and the rule of law define Europe, and European countries thusly make up most of the top countries on the Social and Moral Index. In "Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice" by Jack Donnelly₂ Europe is described as the leading practical example of the implementation of human rights, where they really are seen as intrinsic rights and not merely liberties₃. The European Court of Human Rights is heavily over-subscribed and influential: it answers to the call of the citizens themselves, and only very rarely do governments ignore its rulings₄.

There are 58 locations that fall within this category. By adding up all the known populations that fall within these locations, and summing their physical land areas, we can calculate population densities. Some islands and territories can end up being counted twice depending on how they are classified and divided up politically, but, mostly such errors involve only small populations. So, some data on this collection of countries in total:

• Population: 700.8m
• Land Area: 6 665 788km²
• Independent States: 48
• Other Territories: 10
• Compare to other regions of the world

1. Summary Data
2. Social and Moral Development
3. Demographics and Migration
4. Responsibility Towards The Environment
   1. EU Swimming Water Quality in 2020 (Best: Cyprus and Austria; Worst: UK and Poland)
5. Culture, Peace and Inequality
   1. Unhappiness and Extremist Voting in Europe
6. Modernity and Learning
7. Health
8. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
9. Religion and Beliefs
10. The European Union (EU)
11. Links

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1. Summary Data

#economics #human_development #population #wealth

Pos.		Population (2018) Population5	Social & Moral Lower is better Avg Rank1	Gross National Income (2021) Higher is better PPP $6	UN HDI (2021) Higher is better Value6	Land Area (2011) km27	People Per km2 Lower is better
1	Albania	2.9m	75.4	$14 131	0.796	27 400	105
2	Andorra	77 006	77.8	$51 167	0.858	470	164
3	Armenia	3.0m	83.6	$13 158	0.759	28 480	104
4	Austria	8.9m	36.2	$53 619	0.916	82 409	108
5	Azerbaijan	9.9m	95.0	$14 257	0.745	82 658	120
6	Belarus	9.5m	87.7	$18 849	0.808	202 910	47
7	Belgium	11.5m	39.4	$52 293	0.937	30 280	379
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	3.3m	77.7	$15 242	0.780	51 000	65
9	Bulgaria	7.1m	67.3	$23 079	0.795	108 560	65
10	Croatia	4.2m	61.8	$30 132	0.858	55 960	74
11	Cyprus	1.2m	53.9	$38 188	0.896	9 240	129
12	Czechia	10.7m	52.6	$38 745	0.889	77 240	138
13	Denmark	5.8m	27.0	$60 365	0.948	42 430	136
14	Estonia	1.3m	52.4	$38 048	0.890	42 390	31
15	Finland	5.5m	33.4	$49 452	0.940	303 890	18
16	France	65.0m	42.9	$45 937	0.903	547 660	119
17	Georgia	4.0m	78.0	$14 664	0.802	69 490	58
18	Germany	83.1m	37.6	$54 534	0.942	348 570	238
19	Greece	10.5m	57.7	$29 002	0.887	128 900	82
20	Hungary	9.7m	54.7	$32 789	0.846	90 530	107
21	Iceland	0.3m	41.4	$55 782	0.959	100 250	3
22	Ireland	4.8m	37.8	$76 169	0.945	68 890	70
23	Italy	60.6m	47.2	$42 840	0.895	294 140	206
24	Latvia	1.9m	59.2	$32 803	0.863	62 200	31
25	Liechtenstein	37 910	46.2	$146 830	0.935	160	237
26	Lithuania	2.8m	60.7	$37 931	0.875	62 674	45
27	Luxembourg	0.6m	41.4	$84 649	0.930	2 590	233
28	Macedonia	2.1m	75.9	$15 918	0.770	25 220	83
29	Malta	0.4m	55.8	$38 884	0.918	320	1 373
30	Moldova	4.1m	77.6	$14 875	0.767	32 854	123
31	Monaco	38 682	59.0			2	19 341
32	Montenegro	0.6m	72.2	$20 839	0.832	13 450	47
33	Netherlands	17.1m	33.3	$55 979	0.941	33 730	506
34	Norway	5.3m	29.9	$64 660	0.961	304 250	18
35	Poland	37.9m	56.3	$33 034	0.876	304 150	125
36	Portugal	10.3m	47.5	$33 155	0.866	91 470	112
37	Romania	19.5m	65.7	$30 027	0.821	230 160	85
38	San Marino	33 785	76.1	$52 654	0.853	60	563
39	Serbia	8.8m	72.3	$19 123	0.802	87 460	101
40	Slovakia	5.5m	59.6	$30 690	0.848	48 088	113
41	Slovenia	2.1m	45.6	$39 746	0.918	20 140	103
42	Spain	46.7m	44.5	$38 354	0.905	498 800	94
43	Sweden	10.0m	31.8	$54 489	0.947	410 340	24
44	Switzerland	8.5m	32.6	$66 933	0.962	40 000	213
45	Turkey	82.3m	79.2	$31 033	0.838	769 630	107
46	Ukraine	44.2m	78.3	$13 256	0.773	579 320	76
47	UK	67.1m	41.4	$45 225	0.929	241 930	278
48	Vatican City		142.5
49	Isle of Man					570
50	Faroe Islands					1 396
51	Kosovo		81.0			10 887
52	Channel Islands					190
	Europe Avg	14.9m	55.7	$40 512	0.87	130 702	114
	World Avg	39.0m	88.6	$20 136	0.72	620 450	63
q=52. No data: 68

Not showing due to lack of data: Guernsey.

This page only shows places where the database has enough data to be able to come to reasonable conclusions about each place. The main focus is on nation states, but, some distinct external territories may be listed if the database has enough information about them. Averages are calculated from as many valid data points as possible, meaning, that some territories and locations that are not listed above may still be used to calculate some of the average values. Some calculations only use Independent State data - hover the cursor over values to see hints.

Links:

• Compare to other regions of the world
• Which are the Countries for International Contributions, Creativity, Peace and Inequality?
• The Population of the Earth
• Homosexuality in Animals and Humans

2. Social and Moral Development

#charitability #climate_change #culture #education #equality #freedom #gender_equality #health #human_development #human_rights #modernity #morals #peace #politics #prejudice #technology #the_environment #the_internet #tolerance

Here are each country's overall scores across the categories that make up the Social and Moral Development Index. This is followed by lists of how each country scores in each individual data set.

Pos.		Social & Moral Lower is better Avg Rank1	Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025) Lower is better Avg Rank9	Culture, Peace & Inequality (2020) Lower is better Avg Rank10	Modernity & Learning (2020) Lower is better Avg Rank11	Health (2025) Lower is better Avg Rank12	Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2025) Lower is better Avg Rank13
1	Denmark	27.0	50.4	11.2	13.6	47.2	8.6
2	Norway	29.9	66.9	13.9	18.3	39.9	9.0
3	Sweden	31.8	71.8	19.6	15.8	43.3	6.1
4	Switzerland	32.6	45.0	21.2	17.4	48.5	28.2
5	Netherlands	33.3	71.1	14.4	19.5	50.2	9.8
6	Finland	33.4	71.9	16.1	7.1	46.9	17.4
7	Austria	36.2	59.6	20.7	19.9	60.1	14.9
8	Germany	37.6	58.2	24.4	16.3	61.9	21.0
9	Ireland	37.8	63.1	22.8	19.8	53.2	25.9
10	Belgium	39.4	75.3	31.3	12.9	50.7	18.4
11	UK	41.4	74.4	31.8	19.4	54.0	22.2
12	Luxembourg	41.4	71.4	25.7	33.9	54.6	16.2
13	Iceland	41.4	96.9	22.3	15.0	45.9	12.9
14	France	42.9	72.8	41.3	26.8	44.1	25.8
15	Spain	44.5	59.5	45.0	30.0	60.4	24.5
16	Slovenia	45.6	82.1	32.6	22.5	59.4	27.8
17	Liechtenstein	46.2	56.8		48.8	30.1	54.9
18	Italy	47.2	63.1	48.6	34.0	56.2	30.8
19	Portugal	47.5	58.0	48.2	34.4	63.2	31.3
20	Estonia	52.4	97.0	44.2	17.9	67.8	36.9
21	Czechia	52.6	89.3	38.9	21.8	63.0	43.1
22	Cyprus	53.9	64.8	47.4	55.6	63.1	40.5
23	Hungary	54.7	65.8	41.1	29.0	71.6	58.5
24	Malta	55.8	92.2	36.8	45.9	59.9	39.7
25	Poland	56.3	81.0	41.5	33.2	70.8	48.0
26	Greece	57.7	61.4	70.9	36.3	60.5	52.4
27	Monaco	59.0	92.1			14.3	71.7
28	Latvia	59.2	77.7	60.1	30.3	76.0	49.4
29	Slovakia	59.6	80.8	48.8	42.9	72.6	51.1
30	Lithuania	60.7	89.5	59.6	31.4	75.5	44.7
31	Croatia	61.8	88.5	52.9	47.8	63.0	54.9
32	Romania	65.7	73.8	54.4	51.0	84.0	61.3
33	Bulgaria	67.3	75.8	62.5	47.8	82.8	58.6
34	Montenegro	72.2	97.3	73.2	64.9	63.8	65.3
35	Serbia	72.3	104.8	61.1	57.1	72.7	63.7
36	Albania	75.4	91.5	66.0	76.4	71.4	73.6
37	Macedonia	75.9	86.9	75.2	77.2	70.4	72.8
38	San Marino	76.1	134.9			37.2	53.1
39	Moldova	77.6	92.1	59.7	68.9	85.0	80.6
40	Bosnia & Herzegovina	77.7	103.5	68.9	65.6	75.0	76.0
41	Andorra	77.8	136.3		87.1	55.9	61.5
42	Georgia	78.0	83.6	87.1	65.6	75.9	76.4
43	Ukraine	78.3	94.8	84.4	47.7	89.6	63.6
44	Turkey	79.2	75.0	86.8	55.9	78.6	87.4
45	Kosovo	81.0		60.9		86.4	102.5
46	Armenia	83.6	108.2	82.2	77.9	75.5	78.5
47	Belarus	87.7	116.0	77.7	51.5	83.7	95.7
48	Azerbaijan	95.0	101.2	99.5	78.9	86.0	100.8
49	Vatican City	142.5	138.3
	Europe Avg	55.7	86.45	48.48	39.81	86.87	47.37
	World Avg	88.6	84.93	78.12	86.31	96.74	86.55
q=49.

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

For more, see:

• "Which are the Countries for International Contributions, Creativity, Peace and Inequality?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

3. Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #emigration #europe #europe_migration #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population

Population:

Pos.		Population (2018) Population5	Life Expectancy (2021) Higher is better Years6	Fertility Rate (2022) 2.0 is best14	Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016) Lower is better Per 10015
1	Albania	2.9m	76.5	1.38	31.8
2	Andorra	77 006	80.4
3	Armenia	3.0m	72.0	1.58	28.7
4	Austria	8.9m	81.6	1.41	40.5
5	Azerbaijan	9.9m	69.4	1.67	18.7
6	Belarus	9.5m	72.4	1.50	30.3
7	Belgium	11.5m	81.9	1.53	38.1
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	3.3m	75.3	1.35	37.3
9	Bulgaria	7.1m	71.8	1.78	37.0
10	Croatia	4.2m	77.6	1.53	39.7
11	Cyprus	1.2m	81.2	1.31	26.9
12	Czechia	10.7m	77.7	1.62	36.1
13	Denmark	5.8m	81.4	1.55	37.1
14	Estonia	1.3m	77.1	1.41	37.9
15	Finland	5.5m	82.0	1.32	43.3
16	France	65.0m	82.5	1.79	40.5
17	Georgia	4.0m	71.7	2.06	29.7
18	Germany	83.1m	80.6	1.46	47.7
19	Greece	10.5m	80.1	1.43	41.3
20	Hungary	9.7m	74.5	1.52	32.9
21	Iceland	0.3m	82.7	1.59	32.5
22	Ireland	4.8m	82.0	1.70	29.2
23	Italy	60.6m	82.9	1.24	48.6
24	Latvia	1.9m	73.6	1.47	36.7
25	Liechtenstein	37 910	83.3	1.47
26	Lithuania	2.8m	73.7	1.27	36.0
27	Luxembourg	0.6m	82.6	1.31	28.3
28	Macedonia	2.1m	73.8	1.60	27.7
29	Malta	0.4m	83.8	1.15	39.9
30	Moldova	4.1m	68.8	1.80	24.7
31	Monaco	38 682	85.9
32	Montenegro	0.6m	76.3	1.80	30.0
33	Netherlands	17.1m	81.7	1.49	41.9
34	Norway	5.3m	83.2	1.41	32.2
35	Poland	37.9m	76.5	1.26	36.3
36	Portugal	10.3m	81.0	1.43	44.7
37	Romania	19.5m	74.2	1.81	33.6
38	San Marino	33 785	80.9
39	Serbia	8.8m	74.2	1.63	32.7
40	Slovakia	5.5m	74.9	1.57	31.6
41	Slovenia	2.1m	80.7	1.55	42.7
42	Spain	46.7m	83.0	1.16	41.4
43	Sweden	10.0m	83.0	1.52	37.0
44	Switzerland	8.5m	84.0	1.39	38.3
45	Turkey	82.3m	76.0	1.88	18.0
46	Ukraine	44.2m	71.6	1.27	30.8
47	UK	67.1m	80.7	1.57	35.0
48	Isle of Man			1.57
49	Gibraltar			1.84
50	Faroe Islands			2.05
51	Kosovo			1.51
52	Channel Islands			1.47
	Europe Avg	14.9m	78.36	1.53	35.0
	World Avg	39.0m	71.28	2.47	18.3
q=52. No data: 616

Migration:

Some tiny countries in Europe are mostly comprised of immigrants. The countries in Europe with the highest percent of immigrants in their populations are Liechtenstein (65.1%), Monaco (54.9%) and Andorra (53.3%), although the average for Europe is 14%. Of the large countries with more than a million in their population, the highest proportion of immigrants can be found in Switzerland (29.6%), Austria (19%) and Sweden (17.6%). Conversely, emigration is highest in Monaco (56.3%), Albania (45.4%) and Bosnia & Herzegovina (38.9%), with a continental average of 13% who have crossed a national border to live elsewhere.

For full commentary and data, see:

• Which Country in Europe Has the Most Immigrants Or Emigrants?

4. Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #energy #environmentalism #equality #food #human_rights #internationalism #meat #over-exploitation #sustainability #the_environment #tolerance #veganism #vegetarianism

All countries' current and historical approach towards the environment is gauged via 21 datasets, including multiple decades of data on its forested percent change 2000-2020, its environmental performance, energy to GDP efficiency, its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population, reducing annual meat consumption per person and its score on the Green Future Index.

The countries that do the best (Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Switzerland) tend to have avoided the excesses of early industrial countries, and have not yet repeated the same mistakes of environmental destruction - at least, not on the same scale. The regions with the best average results per country are Central America, South America and Scandinavia. The worst are Eritrea, The Vatican City and Timor-Leste (E. Timor), and the worst regions Micronesia, Australasia and Melanesia.

For more, see:

• " Countries With the Best Environmental Records" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Pos.		Forest Area Change 2000-2020 Higher is better17	Environmental Performance (2018) Higher is better18	Energy to GDP Efficiency (2022) Lower is better Avg19	International Accords on the Environment Higher is better Avg Rate	Rational Beliefs on the Environment (2011) Higher is better %20	Meat Consumption (2021) Lower is better kg21	Green Future Index (2023) Higher is better Score22
1	Albania	2.5%	65.5	1.08	47%	9.4%	52.0
2	Andorra	0.0%			22%
3	Armenia	-1.3%	62.1	1.42	72%	25.3%	60.0
4	Austria	1.6%	79.0	1.04	70%	31.8%	76.4	5.4
5	Azerbaijan	14.2%	62.3	1.18	66%	31.7%	37.1
6	Belarus	5.9%	65.0	1.64	76%	23.7%	88.9
7	Belgium	3.3%	77.4	1.49	66%	26.9%	66.2	5.8
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	3.6%	41.8	1.60	45%	44.0%	46.8
9	Bulgaria	14.9%	67.9	1.63	57%	32.5%	61.8	5.3
10	Croatia	2.9%	65.5	1.00	51%	37.8%	90.8
11	Cyprus	0.5%	72.6	0.92	71%	71.0%	75.8
12	Czechia	1.5%	67.7	1.36	58%	16.0%	82.4	5.0
13	Denmark	9.8%	81.6	0.65	73%	14.9%	70.5	6.3
14	Estonia	8.7%	64.3	1.56	80%	15.9%	72.1
15	Finland	-0.2%	78.6	1.44	79%	22.9%	74.0	6.7
16	France	12.5%	84.0	0.95	67%	38.4%	86.1	6.0
17	Georgia	2.2%	55.7	1.22	79%	31.9%	37.8
18	Germany	0.6%	78.4	0.91	76%	36.1%	76.6	5.9
19	Greece	8.4%	73.6	1.20	62%	77.6%	76.8	5.6
20	Hungary	6.8%	65.0	1.01	66%	38.0%	82.1	5.1
21	Iceland	64.7%	78.6	4.01	53%	13.1%	83.6	6.7
22	Ireland	22.8%	78.8	0.62	59%	27.9%	80.2	5.7
23	Italy	13.8%	77.0	0.84	66%	49.6%	74.3	5.7
24	Latvia	5.2%	66.1	0.81	81%	19.5%	74.0
25	Liechtenstein	0.0%			66%
26	Lithuania	8.9%	69.3	0.83	75%	25.6%	83.6
27	Luxembourg	2.3%	79.1	1.16	68%	33.3%	85.8	5.6
28	Macedonia	4.6%	61.1	1.04	74%	30.1%	41.0
29	Malta	31.4%	80.9	2.36	55%	57.3%	67.8
30	Moldova	11.9%	52.0	1.88	50%	40.4%	61.9
31	Monaco	0.0%			60%
32	Montenegro	32.1%	61.3	1.03	72%	35.9%	88.4
33	Netherlands	2.8%	75.5	1.17	68%	23.0%	63.8	6.2
34	Norway	0.6%	77.5	1.19	81%	20.5%	74.7	6.4
35	Poland	4.6%	64.1	1.01	57%	23.8%	89.3	5.4
36	Portugal	1.0%	71.9	0.95	69%	55.8%	94.6	5.5
37	Romania	8.7%	64.8	0.75	57%	33.4%	67.1	4.7
38	San Marino	0.0%			26%
39	Serbia	10.6%	57.5	1.79	41%	41.1%	77.6
40	Slovakia	1.3%	70.6	1.26	57%	31.1%	63.5	4.8
41	Slovenia	0.4%	67.6	1.15	56%	45.1%	61.2
42	Spain	8.6%	78.4	0.98	66%	44.8%	100.3	5.9
43	Sweden	-0.7%	80.5	1.30	83%	24.3%	66.9	6.3
44	Switzerland	6.0%	87.4	0.55	78%		68.0	5.4
45	Turkey	10.0%	53.0	0.86	47%	47.4%	43.0	3.8
46	Ukraine	1.9%	52.9	2.11	80%	41.5%	48.5	4.4
47	UK	7.8%	79.9	0.80	70%	22.6%	82.3	6.1
48	Vatican City	0.0%			10%
49	Guernsey	82.6%
50	Isle of Man	0.0%
51	Jersey	0.0%
52	Gibraltar	0.0%
53	Faroe Islands	0.0%
54	Svalbard	0.0%
	Europe Avg	8.2%	69.6	1.25	62.7%	33.6%	71.1	5.6
	World Avg	-0.1%	56.4	1.23	57.5%	39.9%	52.5	4.8
q=54. No data: 423

The Green Futures Index was very positive about Europe's role, in modern times, in protecting the climate. "Several European countries have made significant policy and energy infrastructure investment gains including Greece, which has earmarked more than 30% of its €18 billion EU recovery fund package for clean energy transition efforts" (GFI 2022)₂₄. The EU specifically gains a lot of support from the GFI:

“EU members collectively benefit from its policy resolutions to speed up low-carbon societal and economic activities", for example the current European Commission drive to boost biodiversity via the European Green Deal; this acclaim comes from the Green Futures Index (GFI). "The political will and coordination of the EU is creating a virtuous cycle that drives climate action. Eight out of the top 10 nations in the climate policy pillar [of GFI statistics groupings] are EU states, led by Denmark, which has one of the most aggressive decarbonization policy positions in the world.”

GFI (2023)₂₅

10.2. EU Swimming Water Quality in 2020 (Best: Cyprus and Austria; Worst: UK and Poland)

#EU_public_health #human_development #pollution #religion #sewage #UK #uk_public_health #water #water_pollution

Swimming sites are directly linked to overall water system health, especially river health. The EU's river water-quality standards stipulate that water companies must treat sewage rather than dump it in rivers and oceans₂₇ where it impacts on all neighbouring countries. Since its adoption in 1991, over 90% of urban wastewater has come to be treated throughout the EU, and 'the quality of European rivers, lakes and seas has dramatically improved'₂₈. The UK never done well₂₆, however, and the International Water Resources Association's Callum Clench recalls that the UK was regularly fined for not meeting those standards and he worries about further decline now that the UK has left the EU₂₇ and its Conservative Party Government feels freer to do less, and is actively removing even more environmental legislation.

For more, see: UK River and Beach Pollution from Sewage.

5. Culture, Peace and Inequality

#capitalism #charity #corruption #culture #economics #equality #extremism #happiness #health #human_development #inequality #life_expectancy #morals #peace #politics #poverty #religious_violence #social_development #terrorism

This is the final pillar of the Social and Moral Development Index; it has 22 datasets, including multiple decades of data on World Giving Index, resisting corruption, overall happiness, Creativity and Culture, Open Trading, Aid and Development, its Global Peace Index rating, Peacekeeping and Security, Refugees and UN Treaties, the impact of terrorism, Inequality in Life Expectancy, Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) and Multidimensional Poverty.

For more, see:

• "Which are the Countries for International Contributions, Creativity, Peace and Inequality?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

National Culture:

Europe sets the best examples in the world on how to fight corruption; no others are as effective at doing so than the Scandinavian countries of Denmark and Finland, with Norway and Sweden not far behind, according to Transparency International's 2022 data₂₉. The places in Europe most susceptible to corruption are Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Pos.		World Giving Index (2022) Higher is better %30	Corruption (2022) Higher is better Points31	Happiness (2024) Higher is better Score32	Creativity & Culture (2017) Lower is better Rank33	Open Trading, Aid & Development (2017) Lower is better Rank33
1	Albania	34.0	36.0	5.4	78	15
2	Armenia	29.0	46.0	5.5	103	48
3	Austria	45.0	71.0	6.8	7	13
4	Azerbaijan		23.0	4.9	139	86
5	Belarus		39.0		95	84
6	Belgium	21.0	73.0	6.9	1	7
7	Bosnia & Herzegovina	44.0	34.0	6.1	69	45
8	Bulgaria	41.0	43.0	5.6	39	39
9	Croatia	37.0	50.0	5.9	38	10
10	Cyprus	40.0	52.0	5.9	44	38
11	Czechia	48.0	56.0	6.8	9	98
12	Denmark	46.0	90.0	7.5	6	2
13	Estonia	40.0	74.0	6.4	3	37
14	Finland	37.0	87.0	7.7	13	9
15	France	32.0	72.0	6.6	14	17
16	Georgia	31.0	56.0	5.4	109	11
17	Germany	41.0	79.0	6.8	15	14
18	Greece	32.0	52.0	5.8	47	50
19	Hungary	40.0	42.0	5.9	19	23
20	Iceland	46.0	74.0	7.5	37	105
21	Ireland	49.0	77.0	6.9	8	1
22	Italy	29.0	56.0	6.4	26	36
23	Latvia	29.0	59.0	6.2	17	80
24	Lithuania	37.0	62.0	6.8	23	124
25	Luxembourg		77.0	7.1	10	56
26	Macedonia	45.0	40.0	5.5	55	74
27	Malta	45.0	51.0	6.3	28	42
28	Moldova	37.0	39.0	5.8	46	22
29	Montenegro	34.0	45.0	5.9	61	71
30	Netherlands	46.0	80.0	7.3	2	4
31	Norway	45.0	84.0	7.3	22	8
32	Poland	47.0	55.0	6.7	21	46
33	Portugal	26.0	62.0	6.0	12	21
34	Romania	30.0	46.0	6.6	31	81
35	Serbia	46.0	36.0	6.6	33	6
36	Slovakia	41.0	53.0	6.2	20	142
37	Slovenia	39.0	56.0	6.8	16	77
38	Spain	32.0	60.0	6.5	30	34
39	Sweden	42.0	83.0	7.3	5	3
40	Switzerland	37.0	82.0	6.9	4	5
41	Turkey	40.0	36.0	5.3	75	40
42	Ukraine	49.0	33.0	4.7	62	72
43	UK	47.0	73.0	6.7	11	35
44	Kosovo	43.0	41.0	6.7
	Europe Avg	39.0	57.61	6.37	35.0	42.6
	World Avg	39.6	42.98	5.58	82.0	82.0
q=44. No data: 1434

10.1. Unhappiness and Extremist Voting in Europe ₃₅

#human_development #religion #USA

Statistical analysis for the "World Happiness Report" by Helliwell et al. (2025)₃₆ shows that in Europe (and the USA), there has been an overall decline in happiness over the years and since the 2000s in particular, they have been causing a rise in voting habits towards more extreme political parties₃₇. Social Trust is a linked feature during this decline; those who trust others tend to vote for far-left, and those who distrust others go far-right₃₇. In addition, as rich countries are often very divided in terms of incomes (economic inequality), there is a unfortunate trend for the poor-and-poorly-educated to vote for more extreme right-wing parties: those are the very parties that engender and permit economic inequality, whereas the better-educated tend to vote further to left, towards the less popular parties that intend to distribute wealth more equally.₃₇. In short, reduced happiness locks-in some poor voting choices, and political parties (especially those on the right, economically) are all-too-happy to capitalize on this, causing further decline in national stability and happiness.

Peace Versus Instability:

Pos.		Global Peace Index (2023) Lower is better Score38	Peacekeeping & Security (2017) Lower is better Rank33	Refugees & UN Treaties (2017) Lower is better Rank33	Impact of Terrorism (2019) Lower is better Score39
1	Albania	1.75	80	74	0.42
2	Armenia	1.93	136	104	1.17
3	Austria	1.32	65	1	1.66
4	Azerbaijan	2.10	42	132	0.70
5	Belarus	2.25	132	92
6	Belgium	1.52	109	13	3.64
7	Bosnia & Herzegovina	1.89	149	35	1.39
8	Bulgaria	1.64	69	32	0.37
9	Croatia	1.45	146	58	0.00
10	Cyprus	1.90	73	17	0.42
11	Czechia	1.38	98	48	0.87
12	Denmark	1.31	64	9	0.96
13	Estonia	1.56	93	72	0.12
14	Finland	1.40	52	8	2.03
15	France	1.94	53	16	5.01
16	Georgia	2.07	79	101	1.34
17	Germany	1.46	37	2	4.25
18	Greece	1.89	115	31	4.17
19	Hungary	1.51	17	43	0.18
20	Iceland	1.12	77	42	0.03
21	Ireland	1.31	50	21	2.69
22	Italy	1.66	55	14	3.11
23	Latvia	1.58	104	70	0.23
24	Lithuania	1.67	99	56	0.46
25	Luxembourg		100	20
26	Macedonia	1.71	135	54	0.30
27	Malta		124	5
28	Moldova	1.87	9	64	0.12
29	Montenegro	1.77	128	41	1.00
30	Netherlands	1.49	27	3	2.35
31	Norway	1.55	51	7	0.08
32	Poland	1.63	107	24	0.48
33	Portugal	1.33	133	28	0.00
34	Romania	1.65	58	36	0.00
35	Serbia	1.92	84	45	0.12
36	Slovakia	1.58	113	52	0.06
37	Slovenia	1.33	160	18	0.00
38	Spain	1.65	71	15	3.35
39	Sweden	1.63	67	4	3.45
40	Switzerland	1.34	44	10	0.19
41	Turkey	2.80	78	39	6.53
42	Ukraine	3.04	108	57	5.55
43	UK	1.69	48	12	5.41
44	Kosovo	1.95			2.26
	Europe Avg	1.70	84.6	37.8	1.62
	World Avg	2.07	82.0	82.0	2.78
q=44. No data: 1434

Europe was the first continent to move towards the modern era of state-based democratic security as part of a long-term trend of peaceability regulated by state interventions.

Economic Inequality and Poverty:

Pos.		Inequality in Life Expectancy (2019) Lower is better41	Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) (2023) Lower is better %42	Multidimensional Poverty (2018) Lower is better Severity43
1	Albania	7.20	29.4%44	.003
2	Armenia	8.70	27.9%45	.001
3	Austria	3.70	30.7%46
4	Azerbaijan	13.90	26.6%47
5	Belarus	4.40	24.4%44
6	Belgium	3.60	26.6%46
7	Bosnia & Herzegovina	5.40	33.0%48	.008
8	Bulgaria	6.10	39.0%46
9	Croatia	4.30	28.9%46
10	Cyprus	3.60	31.3%46
11	Czechia	3.00	26.2%46
12	Denmark	3.60	28.3%46
13	Estonia	3.60	31.8%46
14	Finland	3.00	27.7%46
15	France	3.80	31.5%46
16	Georgia	7.90	33.5%45
17	Germany	3.80	32.4%44
18	Greece	3.50	32.9%46
19	Hungary	4.20	29.2%46
20	Iceland	2.40	26.1%49
21	Ireland	3.40	30.1%46
22	Italy	3.10	34.8%46
23	Latvia	5.40	34.3%46
24	Lithuania	5.50	36.7%46
25	Luxembourg	3.40	32.7%46
26	Macedonia	7.90	33.5%50	.010
27	Malta	4.60	31.4%44
28	Moldova	9.60	25.7%46	.004
29	Montenegro	3.60	34.3%46	.002
30	Netherlands	3.10	25.7%46
31	Norway	3.00	27.7%50
32	Poland	4.30	28.5%46
33	Portugal	3.50	34.6%46
34	Romania	6.30	33.9%46
35	Serbia	4.90	33.1%46	.001
36	Slovakia	5.00	24.1%46
37	Slovenia	2.90	24.3%46
38	Spain	3.00	33.9%46
39	Sweden	2.90	29.8%46
40	Switzerland	3.50	33.7%44
41	Turkey	9.00	44.4%46
42	Ukraine	7.40	25.6%44	.001
43	UK	4.10	32.4%46
44	Kosovo		29.0%49
	Europe Avg	4.86	30.7%	.004
	World Avg	14.59	36.5%	.154
q=44. No data: 1434

6. Modernity and Learning

#education #english #intelligence #it_security #maths #modernity #politics #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #technology #the_internet

The most modern countries, with the best results from education, the highest levels of research, and with the easiest access to information on the Internet, are Finland, Belgium and Denmark₅₁. The worst countries are Eritrea, S. Sudan and Sierra Leone₅₁. Despite improves in global education, access to tertiary (adult) education is becoming increasingly unequal between the rich haves and the poor have-nots₅₂.

“Education, at all levels and ages, is the single most vital support for equality as well as being a country's most vital economic and social resource. [...] Every successful aspirant to modernisation and economic development, from Japan to South Korea, China to Chile, has got there with a big emphasis on education.”

Bill Emmott (2017)₅₃

15 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on Research and Development, Secondary Education, Length of Schooling, Intellectual Endeavours, Maths, Science & Reading, Religiosity, IQ, the percent of citizens with access to the internet, Freedom On The Internet, IT Security, IPv6 Uptake and digital quality of life. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe₅₁, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Africa and Micronesia₅₁.

For more, see:

• " Which Countries are Most Modern, With the Best Education and Internet Access?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Modernity and Education:

Pos.		Research & Development (2016) Higher is better % RDP PPP	Secondary Education (2018) Higher is better54	Length of Schooling (2021) Higher is better Years55	Intellectual Endeavours (2017) Lower is better Rank33	Maths, Science & Reading (2015) Higher is better Score56	Religiosity (2018) Lower is better %57	IQ (2006) Higher is better58
1	Albania	0.1559	92.9%	14.4	105	1245	15	90
2	Andorra		72.3%	13.3				98
3	Armenia	0.2460	97.2%	13.1	56		53	94
4	Austria	3.0061	100.0%	16.0	6	1477	12	100
5	Azerbaijan	0.2160	95.6%	13.5	129		38	87
6	Belarus	0.6760	92.2%	15.2	46		21	97
7	Belgium	2.4662	84.8%	19.6	9	1508	11	99
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	0.3360	81.2%	13.8	16		54
9	Bulgaria	0.6560	95.1%	13.9	14	1319	19	93
10	Croatia	0.8160	95.7%	15.1	33	1426	42	90
11	Cyprus	0.4860	80.3%	15.6	31	1313
12	Czechia	2.0062	99.8%	16.2	2	1472	7	98
13	Denmark	3.0562	89.3%	18.7	4	1513	9	98
14	Estonia	1.4362	100.0%	15.9	36	1573	6	99
15	Finland	3.1762	100.0%	19.1	7	1568	10	99
16	France	2.2662	83.5%	15.8	24	1487	11	98
17	Georgia	0.1363	98.0%	15.6	86	1216	51	94
18	Germany	2.8462	96.3%	17.0	21	1524	10	99
19	Greece	0.8462	64.8%	20.0	27	1376	56	92
20	Hungary	1.3762	97.2%	15.0	3	1424	14	98
21	Iceland	1.8962	100.0%	19.2	15	1443		101
22	Ireland	1.5262	88.3%	18.9	32	1528	22	92
23	Italy	1.2962	79.6%	16.2	41	1456	21	102
24	Latvia	0.6060	99.2%	16.2	13	1460	11	98
25	Liechtenstein			15.2
26	Lithuania	0.9560	94.9%	16.3	18	1425	16	91
27	Luxembourg	1.2662	100.0%	14.4	37	1450
28	Macedonia	0.4460	49.8%	13.6	19	1107
29	Malta	0.8960	78.2%	16.8	62	1391
30	Moldova	0.3560	96.4%	14.4	47	1264	42	96
31	Montenegro	0.3860	91.6%	15.1	48	1256
32	Netherlands	1.9762	88.3%	18.7	8	1524	20	100
33	Norway	1.7062	95.4%	18.2	49	1513	19	100
34	Poland	0.9462	85.3%	16.0	23	1511	30	99
35	Portugal	1.2862	54.2%	16.9	39	1491	36	95
36	Romania	0.3862	90.0%	14.2	30	1313	50	94
37	San Marino			12.3
38	Serbia	0.7360	89.5%	14.4	28		34
39	Slovakia	0.8962	99.3%	14.5	42	1389	23	96
40	Slovenia	2.3962	97.6%	17.7	10	1528		96
41	Spain	1.2262	75.8%	17.9	40	1475	22	98
42	Sweden	3.1662	88.9%	19.4	17	1487	10	99
43	Switzerland	2.9664	96.5%	16.5	11	1519	9	101
44	Turkey	1.0162	53.1%	18.3	55	1273	68
45	Ukraine	0.7660	94.6%	15.0	1		23	97
46	UK	1.7062	84.5%	17.3	5	1499	10	100
47	Kosovo					1087	48
	Europe Avg	1.32	88.3%	16.1	31.3	1417	25.8	96.6
	World Avg	0.84	63.0%	13.5	82.0	1389	54.3	85.6
q=47. No data: 1165

Technology and Information:

Pos.		Internet Users (2016) Higher is better66	Internet Freedom (2012) Lower is better67	IT Security (2013) Lower is better68	IPv6 Uptake (2017) Higher is better Ratio69	Digital Quality of Life (2024) Higher is better70
1	Albania	63%			0.0	46.7%
2	Andorra	97%			0.0
3	Armenia	50%		1.22	0.0	43.9%
4	Austria	81%			7.5	70.8%
5	Azerbaijan	61%	50	1.21	0.0	46.0%
6	Belarus	61%	69	1.22	0.0	43.5%
7	Belgium	89%			55.4	66.1%
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	62%			3.1	38.8%
9	Bulgaria	59%			1.3	66.3%
10	Croatia	74%			0.1	61.1%
11	Cyprus	72%			0.0	61.6%
12	Czechia	88%		0.24	10.1	63.2%
13	Denmark	96%			3.1	72.3%
14	Estonia	91%	10		17.6	69.3%
15	Finland	93%			14.1	76.9%
16	France	86%		1.13	18.8	73.9%
17	Georgia	53%	30		0.0	43.4%
18	Germany	88%	15	1.46	41.8	77.9%
19	Greece	65%			33.5	58.9%
20	Hungary	80%	19	0.27	7.4	60.2%
21	Iceland	100%			0.3
22	Ireland	81%		0.11	26.1	65.9%
23	Italy	66%	23	1.15	1.7	63.3%
24	Latvia	76%		0.33	2.2	63.2%
25	Liechtenstein	96%			0.0
26	Lithuania	77%			0.1	67.8%
27	Luxembourg	95%		0.11	32.4	70.0%
28	Macedonia	69%			0.0	45.7%
29	Malta	80%			0.0	61.0%
30	Moldova	48%		0.71	0.3	45.5%
31	Monaco	93%			0.0
32	Montenegro	62%			0.0	44.9%
33	Netherlands	94%		1.47	10.5	72.6%
34	Norway	98%			14.7	64.5%
35	Poland	72%		0.55	3.6	66.0%
36	Portugal	67%			26.6	62.8%
37	Romania	58%		0.52	8.7	67.8%
38	San Marino				0.0
39	Serbia	54%			0.1	53.5%
40	Slovakia	83%			0.8	60.7%
41	Slovenia	72%			5.4	62.3%
42	Spain	82%		0.88	0.6	70.5%
43	Sweden	93%		0.44	3.8	68.7%
44	Switzerland	87%		0.55	35.1	69.0%
45	Turkey	58%	46	0.52	0.3	52.2%
46	Ukraine	44%	27	1.44	0.1	54.4%
47	UK	93%	25	1.34	24.7	69.3%
48	Guernsey				0.0
49	Isle of Man				0.0
50	Jersey				0.1
51	Faroe Islands	99%			1.4
	Europe Avg	76.7%	31.4	0.80	8.11	61.0%
	World Avg	48.1%	46.7	0.98	3.82	48.4%
q=51. No data: 771

7. Health

#alcohol #birth_control #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and The Isle of Man₇₂. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are S. Sudan, Angola and Nigeria₇₂.

21 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Balkans₇₂, whereas the worst are Africa, Micronesia and Melanesia₇₂.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

Pos.		Life Expectancy (2021) Higher is better Years6	Alcohol Consumption (2016) Lower is better Per Capita73	Fertility Rate (2022) 2.0 is best14	Smoking Rates (2014) Lower is better74	Suicide Rate (2013) Per 100k75	Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017) Lower is better Rank33	Overweight Adults (2016) Lower is better %76
1	Albania	76.5	7.5	1.38	1 177	8	138	57.7
2	Andorra	80.4	11.3					63.7
3	Armenia	72.0	5.5	1.58	1 545	3.9	31	54.4
4	Austria	81.6	11.6	1.41	1 988	30.9	28	54.3
5	Azerbaijan	69.4	0.8	1.67	2 114	1.3	89	53.6
6	Belarus	72.4	11.2	1.50	3 831	57.5	67	59.4
7	Belgium	81.9	12.1	1.53	2 353	39.1	16	59.5
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	75.3	6.4	1.35	2 233		95	53.3
9	Bulgaria	71.8	12.7	1.78	1 505	25	53	61.7
10	Croatia	77.6	8.9	1.53	1 709	36.4	83	59.6
11	Cyprus	81.2	10.8	1.31	1 688	9.1	59	59.1
12	Czechia	77.7	14.4	1.62	2 194	28.3	47	62.3
13	Denmark	81.4	10.4	1.55	1 378	23.9	3	55.4
14	Estonia	77.1	11.6	1.41	1 775	37.9	27	55.8
15	Finland	82.0	10.7	1.32	1 083	39	12	57.9
16	France	82.5	12.6	1.79	993	33.2	23	59.5
17	Georgia	71.7	9.8	2.06	1 378	8.8	66	54.2
18	Germany	80.6	13.4	1.46	1 480	23.9	7	56.8
19	Greece	80.1	10.4	1.43	2 086	7	29	62.3
20	Hungary	74.5	11.4	1.52	1 759	50.6	33	61.6
21	Iceland	82.7	9.1	1.59	551	23.5	41	59.1
22	Ireland	82.0	13.0	1.70	954	23.7	2	60.6
23	Italy	82.9	7.5	1.24	1 443	12.8	24	58.5
24	Latvia	73.6	12.9	1.47	1 041	48.2	70	57.8
25	Liechtenstein	83.3		1.47
26	Lithuania	73.7	15.0	1.27	1 124	71.7	64	59.6
27	Luxembourg	82.6	13.0	1.31	2 284	19.3	11	58.7
28	Macedonia	73.8	8.1	1.60	2 732	13.5	34	58.1
29	Malta	83.8	8.1	1.15	1 266	6.9	76	66.4
30	Moldova	68.8	15.2	1.80	1 114	35.7	87	51.8
31	Monaco	85.9
32	Montenegro	76.3	8.0	1.80	4 125		134	59.4
33	Netherlands	81.7	8.7	1.49	1 396	18.6	9	57.8
34	Norway	83.2	7.5	1.41	556	23.8	5	58.3
35	Poland	76.5	11.6	1.26	1 396	30.5	79	58.3
36	Portugal	81.0	12.3	1.43	1 113	19.6	39	57.5
37	Romania	74.2	12.7	1.81	1 620	24.5	112	57.7
38	San Marino	80.9
39	Serbia	74.2	11.1	1.63	1 644	38.1	106	57.1
40	Slovakia	74.9	11.5	1.57	1 618	25.7	52	56.2
41	Slovenia	80.7	12.6	1.55	2 637	44	57	56.1
42	Spain	83.0	10.0	1.16	1 265	15.3	22	61.6
43	Sweden	83.0	9.2	1.52	831	25.5	1	56.4
44	Switzerland	84.0	11.5	1.39	1 634	36.2	6	54.3
45	Turkey	76.0	2.0	1.88	1 581		44	66.8
46	Ukraine	71.6	8.6	1.27	1 854	44.8	55	58.4
47	UK	80.7	11.5	1.57	827	13.9	4	63.7
48	Isle of Man			1.57
49	Gibraltar			1.84
50	Faroe Islands			2.05
51	Kosovo			1.51
52	Channel Islands			1.47
	Europe Avg	78.36	10.3	1.53	1 648	26.99	47.4	58.5
	World Avg	71.28	6.2	2.47	819	20.93	82.0	49.0
q=52. No data: 616

Children's Health:

Pos.		Adolescent Birth Rate (2022) Lower is better Per 100077	Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015) Higher is better Avg %78
1	Albania	14.5	97.1
2	Andorra	5.9	97.1
3	Armenia	18.3	95.6
4	Austria	5.2	93.8
5	Azerbaijan	40.1	92.2
6	Belarus	11.2	85.3
7	Belgium	5.1	97.8
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	9.4	88.0
9	Bulgaria	38.2	93.7
10	Croatia	8.2	95.9
11	Cyprus	6.8	95.3
12	Czechia	9.4	98.7
13	Denmark	1.8	92.3
14	Estonia	8.1	93.9
15	Finland	4.1	98.1
16	France	9.4	92.6
17	Georgia	29.7	93.1
18	Germany	7.2	94.0
19	Greece	8.3	97.3
20	Hungary	21.9	99.0
21	Iceland	5.1	91.5
22	Ireland	5.9	89.2
23	Italy	3.9	93.8
24	Latvia	10.5	92.8
25	Liechtenstein	3.0
26	Lithuania	9.7	93.9
27	Luxembourg	4.2	98.0
28	Macedonia	16.1	95.2
29	Malta	11.5	95.5
30	Moldova	27.2	91.5
31	Monaco	6.9	97.3
32	Montenegro	9.7	89.9
33	Netherlands	2.7	88.1
34	Norway	2.2	94.3
35	Poland	9.2	96.5
36	Portugal	7.1	95.7
37	Romania	35.4	92.7
38	San Marino	3.7	79.3
39	Serbia	14.4	93.5
40	Slovakia	26.6	97.0
41	Slovenia	4.4	95.2
42	Spain	6.3	96.5
43	Sweden	3.3	77.8
44	Switzerland	2.2	95.3
45	Turkey	15.7	95.5
46	Ukraine	15.2	55.2
47	UK	10.0	94.6
	Europe Avg	11.4	92.7
	World Avg	43.8	88.3
q=47. No data: 1179

8. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#christianity #equality #Europe #freedom #gender_equality #human_rights #LGBT_rights #morals #poland #politics #prejudice #tolerance #turkey

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2025)13
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank13
1	Sweden	6.1
2	Denmark	8.6
3	Norway	9.0
4	Netherlands	9.8
5	Iceland	12.9
6	Austria	14.9
7	Luxembourg	16.2
8	Finland	17.4
9	Belgium	18.4
10	Germany	21.0
	...
46	Belarus	95.7
47	Azerbaijan	100.8
48	Kosovo	102.5
	Europe Avg	47.37
	World Avg	86.55
q=48.

The best countries in Europe at protecting human rights, engendering tolerance and supporting equality, are Sweden, Denmark and Norway and the continent as a whole does better than the global average. The worst countries are Kosovo, Azerbaijan and Belarus. Europe has an excellent record on women's rights and gender equality. Prejudice against any protected characteristics found in HR law is actively challenged in most of Europe, especially in countries that have signed up for the European Council of Human Rights (part of the Council of Europe), which frequently sees cases brought by citizens against member states. LGBT rights, freedom of religion and freedom of thought are all routine. The most powerful and effective agents working against human rights in Europe are Christian institutions, especially the Catholic church and conservative movements, plus, the occasional push by backwards political parties or individual leaders. Some of these factors create long-term problems, such as in Poland or Turkey. But, there is nowhere else in the world have the spurious prejudices of human culture have been so diminished as in Europe.

For full commentary and data, see:

• Human Rights, Tolerance and Equality in Europe

9. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #folk_religion #god #hinduism #human_development #islam #judaism #no_religion #religion #religiosity #secularisation

Over the last 60 years, religion in Europe has seen a strong decline. On average throughout the 27 EU countries, only half of its people believe in God₈₀ and 25.4% directly say that they have no religion₈₁. There is much variation from country to country. Only 16% of the populace of Estonia believe in God and the Scandinavian countries are highly atheist. But 95% believe in Malta. Two main social groups are particularly prone to belief in God; those over 55 years old and those whose education did not proceed beyond the 15-year-old stage.₈₀. For a discussion on secularisation in general, see: "Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?" by Vexen Crabtree

Despite the low rate of belief in God, many Europeans still claim to belong to theistic religions. 49.5% of the population of Europe say they are Catholic Christian, 15.7% say they're Muslim, 12.7% say they're Protestant Christian, 8.6% say they're Orthodox Christian and 0.4% say they are Jewish₈₁. These numbers mean that at least 30% of Europeans are putting down a religion despite not believing in the very basic first principal of the religion they put down. In some places, this percent is higher. In France only 52% of Catholic believe in God and "only 18 percent define God according to the teachings of the Catholic Church"₈₂. This is all because most people in Europe confuse religion and cultural heritage, and for many the actual beliefs of a religion don't really matter. For a discussion of this, see: "Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls" by Vexen Crabtree.

Pos.		Religiosity (2018) Lower is better %57	Disbelief In God (2007) Higher is better %83	Jews (2010) %84	Christians (2010) %84	Muslims (2010) %84	Hindus (2010) %84	Buddhists (2010) %84	Folk Religion (2010) %84	Unaffiliated (2010) %84
1	Albania	15	8	0.1	18.0	80.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.4
2	Andorra			0.3	89.5	0.8	0.5	0.1	0.1	8.8
3	Armenia	53	14	0.1	98.5	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.3
4	Austria	12	18	0.2	80.4	5.4	0.1	0.2	0.1	13.5
5	Azerbaijan	38	0	0.1	3.0	96.9	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
6	Belarus	21	17	0.1	71.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	28.6
7	Belgium	11	43	0.3	64.2	5.9	0.1	0.2	0.2	29.0
8	Bosnia & Herzegovina	54		0.1	52.3	45.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	2.5
9	Bulgaria	19	34	0.1	82.1	13.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	4.2
10	Croatia	42	7	0.1	93.4	1.4	0.1	0.1	0.1	5.1
11	Cyprus			0.1	73.2	25.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	1.2
12	Czechia	7	61	0.1	23.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	76.4
13	Denmark	9	48	0.1	83.5	4.1	0.4	0.2	0.1	11.8
14	Estonia	6	49	0.1	39.9	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	59.6
15	Finland	10	28	0.1	81.6	0.8	0.1	0.1	0.1	17.6
16	France	11	44	0.5	63.0	7.5	0.1	0.5	0.3	28.0
17	Georgia	51	4	0.1	88.5	10.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.7
18	Germany	10	42	0.3	68.7	5.8	0.1	0.3	0.1	24.7
19	Greece	56	16	0.1	88.1	5.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	6.1
20	Hungary	14	32	0.1	81.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	18.6
21	Iceland		16	0.1	95.0	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	3.5
22	Ireland	22	5	0.1	92.0	1.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	6.2
23	Italy	21	6	0.1	83.3	3.7	0.1	0.2	0.1	12.4
24	Latvia	11	20	0.1	55.8	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	43.8
25	Liechtenstein			0.1	91.9	5.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	2.9
26	Lithuania	16	13	0.1	89.8	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	10.0
27	Luxembourg			0.1	70.4	2.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	26.8
28	Macedonia			0.1	59.3	39.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.4
29	Malta			0.1	97.0	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	2.5
30	Moldova	42	6	0.6	97.4	0.6	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.4
31	Monaco			1.7	86.0	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.1	11.7
32	Montenegro			0.1	78.1	18.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	3.2
33	Netherlands	20	42	0.2	50.6	6.0	0.5	0.2	0.2	42.1
34	Norway	19	31	0.1	84.7	3.7	0.5	0.6	0.1	10.1
35	Poland	30	3	0.1	94.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	5.6
36	Portugal	36	4	0.1	93.8	0.6	0.1	0.6	0.5	4.4
37	Romania	50	4	0.1	99.0	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
38	San Marino			0.3	91.6	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	7.2
39	Serbia	34		0.1	92.5	4.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	3.3
40	Slovakia	23	17	0.1	85.3	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	14.3
41	Slovenia		35	0.1	78.4	3.6	0.1	0.1	0.1	18.0
42	Spain	22	15	0.1	78.6	2.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	19.0
43	Sweden	10	64	0.1	67.2	4.6	0.2	0.4	0.2	27.0
44	Switzerland	9	17	0.3	81.3	5.5	0.4	0.4	0.1	11.9
45	Turkey	68		0.1	0.4	98.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.2
46	Ukraine	23	20	0.1	83.8	1.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	14.7
47	UK	10	42	0.5	71.1	4.4	1.3	0.4	0.3	21.3
48	Vatican City			0.1	99.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
49	Isle of Man			0.1	84.1	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	15.4
50	Gibraltar			2.1	88.8	4.0	1.8	0.1	0.1	2.9
51	Faroe Islands			0.1	98.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.7
52	Kosovo	48		0.1	11.4	87.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.6
53	Channel Islands			0.1	85.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	14.2
	Europe Avg	25.8	23.6	0.2	74.7	11.5	0.2	0.2	0.1	13.2
	World Avg	54.3	9.9	0.5	60.6	22.4	2.0	3.5	2.7	7.9
q=53. No data: 585

Links:

• Compare to other regions of the world
• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?
• Human Religions

More on religion in Europe:

1. Country by Country Comparison
2. Religion and Belief in God in Europe as a Whole
3. European Law and Values on Religion
4. The Banning of Face Coverings such as the Niqab and Burqa in Europe
5. Case Studies
   1. Religion in Scandinavia
   2. The United Kingdom
   3. France
   4. Eastern Europe

10. The European Union (EU)₈₆

1. European Democratic and Social Values, and Fundamental Rights
2. The State of the EU Constitution
3. Structure, Staffing, Brussels and Strasbourg
4. Forms of European Unity
   1. Multispeed Europe
   2. The United States of Europe
   3. 200 Years of Ideas
5. The Benefits of the European Union
6. Supporting Human Rights
7. The EU is in Crises
   1. The EU is Always in Crises
   2. Popular Disillusionment with the EU
8. EU Immigration and Internal Migration
   1. Free Migration is Beneficial and Increasingly Essential
   2. A Combined European Border
9. The Benefits of the Future
   1. Standardization of Corporate Tax
10. About Europe