Ireland is the loneliest country in Europe, according to a new survey.

The study carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre finds that more than one-in-five people in Ireland feel lonely.

The EU average sits at 13%, with those people experiencing loneliness most or all of the time over the past four weeks.

Some 35% of people in Europe reported being lonely at least some of the time in the past month.

Ireland has highest levels of loneliness in Europe - the first ever EU-wide survey on loneliness has found the highest levels of loneliness in Ireland with over 20% of respondents reporting feeling lonely, followed by Luxemburg, Bulgaria and Greece.
The lowest levels are… pic.twitter.com/JeH9B8P43H

— Institute of Public Health (@publichealthie) June 6, 2023

Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Greece have the highest levels of loneliness after Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Croatia and Austria have the lowest levels of loneliness – all below 10%.

The study is the first EU-wide survey on loneliness – and its authors note that the differences across countries can be explained differences in culture and demographics.