Britain is one of the loneliest countries in Europe, with less connection to their neighbours and no-one to turn to in a crisis, a new report reveals.

Britons are also less happy with their social life than most Europeans and feel less safe walking home at night.

The state of the nation is revealed in a new report from the Office for National Statistics into how wellbeing varies across the continent.

It is part of the project ordered by David Cameron to major how the nation feels, as well as what it earns through the economy.

‘An individual’s dwelling, their local environment and the type of community in which they live may all have an effect on a person’s well-being,’ the Office for National Statistics said.

But the league tables on life in the 18 EU member states reveals stark differences between the countries.

While Britain is financially better off than most countries, with low unemployment and largely good health, it recorded some of the lowest figures for having a sense of 'belonging' where people live.

Just 75 per cent of people in the UK feel safe walking home at night in the city or area where they live, compared to 85 per cent in Slovenia.

Barely half of Britons – 58 per cent – say they feel close to people in the area where they live, the lowest in the whole of Europe with the exception of Germany on 58.3 per cent.

People in the UK also feel less supported when things go wrong. Only 88.7 per cent of people said they had support from family, friends or neighbours to help cope with a serious personal or family matter.

This puts the UK third from bottom in the European league table, ahead only of France and Denmark, but well behind the EU average of 93.0. The highest-ranking country was Slovakia (98.8 per cent).

Health can also have a major impact on the way people view their lives. The ONS said: ‘According to the Department of Health, there is a two way relationship between well-being and health: health influences well-being and well-being influences health.’

Almost a third of people (32.9 per cent) report having a long-standing illness or health problem, slightly higher than the EU average.

Only 62.7 of Britons say they health is good or very good, compared to an EU average of 64 per cent and well behind the highest ranked country, Ireland, where 75.3 per cent were in good health.

Britons seem to be fitter than most of Europe, with 46.8 per cent of over-16s taking part in sports or physical exercise at least once a week.

This was higher than the EU average of 39.7 per cent and similar to Germany (47.6 per cent).

The highest proportion of people who took part in sports or physical exercise at least once a week were in Finland and Sweden (72.5 per cent and 70.4 per cent respectively), while the lowest proportion was in Bulgaria (12.0 per cent), the ONS said.

Workers in the UK enjoy higher job satisfaction that the EU average and 26 per cent say they do voluntary work.

Some 45.87 per cent say they have time to do things that they really enjoy in their daily lives, well ahead of the lowest ranking country, Romania, on 27 per cent, but behind the Netherlands on 66.3 per cent.