Social Connections and Loneliness in OECD Countries

Social connections - how people interact with and relate to one another - have far-reaching effects on health, employment, education and civic engagement. This report builds on findings from the OECD's flagship well-being publication, How's Life?, to provide an in-depth overview of social connectedness across OECD countries, expanding the evidence base on this emerging policy priority. Drawing from newly combined, large sample size official data sources, it compares the quantity and quality of social connections across population groups, and tracks how these outcomes have developed over time. Findings reveal that (1) people are meeting in person less frequently than in the past, while self-reported feelings of connection have only recently shown signs of worsening in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) men and young people - groups previously considered at lower risk - have seen some of the largest deteriorations; (3) deprivations in social connection often overlap with socio-economic disadvantage, living alone and older age; and (4) the drivers of social connections are complex and span socio-economic, environmental and structural factors. This report explores social infrastructure and digital technologies as two examples of drivers of (dis)connection that can be targeted by policy.