Countries with populations that have higher levels of trust in each other saw Covid cases and deaths fall faster, a study has found.
Exeter University experts found nations where at least 40 per cent of the population agreed with the statement 'most people can be trusted' were more successful in bringing down Covid rates from peak levels in the first year of the pandemic.
The UK just meets the 40 per cent threshold, while up to 74 per cent of people in Scandinavia trust each other, compared to 63.5 per cent in China and 37 per cent in the US.
The team believes this is because restrictions in place to suppress the spread of the virus – such as face masks and social distancing – 'depend on mutual trust to be effective'.
Professor Tim Lenton, one of the researchers, said: 'Our results add to evidence that trust within society benefits resilience to epidemics.
'Building trust within communities should be a long-term project for all nations because this will help them cope with future pandemics and other challenges such as extreme events caused by climate change.'
Exeter University academics found nations where at least 40 per cent of the population agreed with the statement 'most people can be trusted' were more successful in bringing down Covid rates from peak levels in the first year of the pandemic. China, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have some of the most trusting populations. The UK met the 40 per cent threshold, while the US fell below it. The graph shows Norway and Denmark saw cases fall back to low levels faster than the UK and US
The researchers said the most trusting societies saw cases fall up to 40 times faster and deaths drop 25 times quicker than the least trusting. The data shows Covid deaths returned to low levels faster in Denmark, Norway and China compared to the UK and the US, where the populations were less trusting
The graph shows a correlation between the speed at which Covid cases (left) and deaths (right) fell and how trusting populations are. Countries where at least 40 per cent of the population agreed with the statement that 'most people can be trusted' saw infections and deaths fall faster from the peak in the first year of the pandemic than places where societies are less trusting
The Exeter researchers' map shows countries in relation to how quickly their Covid cases (top) and deaths (bottom) fell, with blue nations seeing the fastest decline and red countries seeing Covid measurements drop slowest
The researchers used Oxford University platform Our World in Data to measure the daily change in coronavirus infections and deaths from peak levels
