Denmark only EU country where trust in national government increased since summer 2020

In February and March 2021, trust in the national government in Denmark ranked highest among EU countries at 7 out of 10, according to Eurofound’s large-scale Living, working and COVID-19 online survey. For the Scandinavian country, this marked an increase of 0.5 points compared to the summer of last year. The pattern of improved trust in national government goes markedly against the trend observed in all other EU Member States, where the average trust rating fell to just 3.9 (spring 2021) from 4.6 in July 2020.

The third round of the unique pan-EU survey was fielded in February and March 2021 and the analysis provided in the report and background data for the latest round is based on a sample of 46,800 responses, and an overall sample of 138,629 across all three rounds. It sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe following nearly a full year of living with COVID-19 restrictions.

Denmark reports some of the highest trust levels in institutions in general compared to other EU countries. Trust in healthcare is particularly high at 8 (EU average: 5.9) and in police at 7.7 (EU average: 5.7). While Danish respondents report lower trust levels for the European Union and news media (both at 5.6), the figures are still higher than those of their EU counterparts (4.6 and 4.2 respectively).

Overall, the survey paints a very positive picture of the situation in Denmark. Many indicators have improved since the onset of the pandemic or last summer respondents in Denmark report the highest life satisfaction (7.2) with 71.6% indicating optimism about their future – again the highest among EU countries. Additionally, financial precariousness has decreased to the lowest rate in Europe, where only 4% of respondents expect their financial situation to get worse in the next three months. This is down from 11% in the summer of 2020.

In terms of employment and work aspects, the survey noted the proportion of people who worked exclusively from the employer's premises increased in most countries, and especially in Denmark where the figure grew from 41% (summer 2020) to 66%. Undeterred by national lockdowns, the close cooperation between the government and social partners continued throughout 2020 and the pandemic, as highlighted by Eurofound’s Working Life Country Profile for Denmark.

Further information

• Report: Living, working and COVID-19 (Update April 2021): Mental health and trust decline across EU as pandemic enters another year
• Data: Living, working and COVID-19
• Quality of life and quality of society during COVID-19 – Denmark
• Working during COVID-19 – Denmark
• Financial situation and security during COVID-19 – Denmark
• Quality of public services during COVID-19 – Denmark
• Database: COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch - Denmark
• EMCC: Restructuring support instruments database
• Country page: Denmark
• Working paper: Denmark: Working life in the COVID-19 pandemic