Greeks, along with other Southern and Eastern Europeans feel lonelier and more socially isolated than other Europeans, according to a recent survey by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission.

The results of the JRC analyses are based on the European Social Survey (ESS) data.
JRC researchers looked at two indicators. One indicator is based on subjective feelings of loneliness. It measures the amount of ‘ lonely individuals’, i.e. those who report feeling lonely.
The second indicator is based on specific determinants of loneliness such as the frequency of meetings with friends. It measures the number of ‘socially isolated individuals’, i.e. those who meet with friends, relatives or work colleagues (outside work) only once per month or less.
According to this analysis, around 30 million European adults (7%) frequently feel lonely.
This number goes up to 10% in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, France, and Greece.
The lowest share of people who feel lonely is found in the Netherlands and Denmark (3%), Finland (4%) as well as Germany, Ireland and Sweden (5%).
Over 40% of Hungarians and Greeks only socialise with friends or family once a month or less. In Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland the figure approaches 35%.
At the other end of the spectrum, social isolation is lowest in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, were around 8% of adults only meet with friends or family one per month or less.