Denmark is the third worst country for making friends abroad, according to InterNations, the global networking platform for internationals working abroad – and it is impacting on the general happiness of internationals working here.
Some 36 percent of the expats in Denmark say they have difficulty making friends – both with fellow internationals and locals – a problem that is also widespread in Sweden (51), Finland (37) and Norway (34).
Almost a fifth of the expats in Denmark said it was an acute problem, with 18 percent agreeing that “it could not be any harder”. Only Sweden had a higher percentage with 19 – the worst in the 68-country ‘Expat Insider’ survey.
Kuwait the worst, Mexico the best
Nevertheless, Sweden was not the worst country for making friends – Kuwait was. It propped up a bottom ten followed by Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Norway, Finland, Austria and Estonia.
Meanwhile, the top ten were Mexico, Bahrain, Serbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uganda, Colombia, Taiwan, Israel, and Portugal.
For a country to be featured, it must (in most cases) have a sample size in excess of 75 survey participants. In total there were over 18,000 respondents.
18 percent of expats unhappy in Denmark
The ease of making friends would appear to impact the overall happiness of internationals living in the Nordic countries.
Compared to a global average of 11 percent, 18 percent of internationals in Danes said they were not happy with their life in general.
The percentage is worse than Norway (15) and Finland (16), but a long way behind Sweden (26).
With its longer winter nights, colder conditions and long-distance travel times, Sweden would appear to be the most effective at making its internationals miserable.
