A newly-released European-wide survey for the European Commission compares opinions towards foreign aid and paints a picture of Denmark having an informed population with a positive opinion of the work of aid organisations.

Showing support
A higher-than-average proportion of Danes believes that the work of aid organisations makes a difference in developing countries. This is reflected in donations to such organisations as 55 percent of Danes donate to aid organisations compared to the European average of 29 percent.

Danes are also more willing to show their support in the supermarkets. They are more likely than most Europeans to fork out more for grocery items that support people in developing countries (62 percent against a 49 percent average).

There also seems to be a culture of feeling informed about foreign aid in Denmark. Some 82 percent of Danes answered that they knew ‘something’ or ‘a lot’ about what aid money is used for, compared to an EU average of just 43 percent.

Across Europe there is a general picture of being more in favour of development aid – this was up 6 percent on last year to 67 percent. Some 71 percent of Danes identified as being in favour.