Social trust promotes cooperation, wrote Kim Mannemar Sønderskov, professor of Political Science at Aarhus University, and Peter Thisted Dinesen, professor of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen, in a 2014 paper. The authors found that the level of social trust in Denmark is among the highest in the world and, moreover, that it dramatically increased over the 30-year period between 1979 and 2009. “In 1979, 47% of Danes expressed that ‘most people can be trusted’, whereas this share had increased to 79% in 2009.” The authors attribute this partly to “improved quality of state institutions, and a concomitant increase in citizens’ trust in these institutions”. The anti-corruption NGO Transparency International publishes an annual ranking of the world’s least-corrupt countries. This year, Denmark topped the table, tied with New Zealand. With a responsible government, politicians in Denmark enjoy a relatively high level of trust. When politicians “behave in an incorrupt manner,” write Sønderskov and Dinesen, “they send the signal that… most people can be trusted.” Many visitors to Denmark remark upon witnessing a level of trust in the country that is rarely seen elsewhere. Driving around rural areas in the summer, for example, you’ll likely spot unattended roadside stalls selling farm produce with only an honesty box to collect payment. It’s not uncommon, either, to see prams with sleeping babies inside parked outside restaurants or cafes: a widely reported story from 1997, when a Danish woman was arrested during a visit to New York City for leaving her baby outside a restaurant, illustrates this culture clash. The ease with which parents can leave children unattended in Denmark is a product of a society that is less anxious about its fellow citizens.
Karen Gardiner, 'The single word that connects Denmark', BBC

















