Denmark Among Most Empathetic Nations In The World

Wednesday, 09.11.2016
For the first time, researchers have compiled a system that ranks nations by how empathetic their citizens are. Denmark is the only European nation in the top 10, coming in fourth overall. Ecuador finished top of the rankings, followed by Saudi Arabia, Peru, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates. South Korea, the US, Taiwan, Costa […]

For the first time, researchers have compiled a system that ranks nations by how empathetic their citizens are. Denmark is the only European nation in the top 10, coming in fourth overall. Ecuador finished top of the rankings, followed by Saudi Arabia, Peru, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates. South Korea, the US, Taiwan, Costa Rica and Kuwait completed the top 10. “These findings reveal that empathy is situated within a broader nomological network of other psychological characteristics, emotional expression and experiences, and prosocial behaviour across cultures,” the study stated in its abstract.

The study was composed by scientists from three US universities (Michigan State University, University of Chicago and Indiana University) and collected data from 104,365 adults in 63 different countries. The study also revealed that countries that displayed high levels of empathy also “had higher levels of collectivism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, self-esteem, emotionality, subjective well-being, and prosocial behaviour.”

Find the study here:

www.jcc.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/10/11/0022022116673910

Denmark was earlier this year ranked second most peaceful country by the Global Peace Index and the world’s happiest people by the UN World Happiness Report 2016.