Britain has been ranked as one of the world’s least “nature connected” nations, according to one of the first comprehensive international studies examining how people relate to the natural world.

Britain Ranks 55th Out of 61 Countries

The research, involving 57,000 participants across 61 nations, placed Britain 55th, highlighting significant disconnect compared with many other parts of the world. The study, published in the journal Ambio, assessed how cultural, social, economic and geographical factors shape people’s attitudes towards nature.

Nepal topped the global rankings, followed by Iran, South Africa, Bangladesh and Nigeria. Within Europe, only Croatia and Bulgaria made the top 10, while France appeared in 19th place. Countries ranking lower than Britain included the Netherlands, English-speaking Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain, which placed last overall.

What Is Nature Connectedness?

Nature connectedness refers to the psychological closeness individuals feel with other living things. Higher levels of nature connection are linked to better wellbeing and are more likely to act in environmentally friendly ways.. Researchers have identified low nature connectedness as one of three major underlying causes of biodiversity loss, alongside inequality and a focus on material gain.

Spirituality Identified as Key Driver of Nature Connection

The study draws on data from a 2024 study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Led by Professor Miles Richardson, professor of nature connectedness at the University of Derby, researchers from Britain and Austria found that high levels of societal “spirituality” were the strongest predictor of a close relationship with nature.

Countries where religion or spiritual belief plays a significant role reported notably higher levels of nature connection.

Business-Friendly Nations Show Lower Nature Connection

Conversely, “ease of doing business” scores, a World Bank metric assessing how business-friendly a country is, were associated with lower levels of connection to nature. Despite Britain’s high membership in environmental organisations, this factor was found to have little influence on actual closeness to the natural world.

More tangible factors associated with low nature connection included high levels of urban development, higher average income and greater internet use.

“Nature connectedness is not just about what we do, but how we feel, think, and value our place in the living world,” said Richardson, who admitted he was not surprised that Britain languished so low in the nature connection league table.

“We’ve become a more rational, economic and scientific society. That’s obviously brought some fantastic benefits but it’s how we balance them with the unforeseen problems,” he said. “How do we reintegrate natural thinking in our very technological world? It’s obviously very difficult to change cultures but it’s about mainstreaming the value of nature, making it integral to our wellbeing, so it becomes respected and almost sacred.”

How Britain Could Rebuild Its Relationship with Nature

Professor Richardson suggested several potential approaches to improve nature connectedness, including:

• Increasing the use of natural environments in NHS mental and public health treatments

• Expanding legal recognition of nature’s rights

• Integrating nature into business decisions through measures such as biodiversity net gain

However, he also noted the tension between economic priorities and environmental wellbeing. While increasing green space in densely populated areas may help, he emphasised that simply adding more parks is not enough.

“We still need a functioning economy,” he said. “There’s ways we can rethink the way we do business – bringing nature into decision-making, nature in the boardroom, and biodiversity net gain. They can start to shift the system, where nature isn’t just simply treated as a resource but as a stakeholder.”

While bringing nature into urban areas might reinvigorate nature connection in very urban societies, Richardson added: “It’s not just about putting a park in. How do you create sacred urban nature? It’s easy to build a park but it needs to go deeper than that.”

Spirituality–Nature Link Backed by Global Values Data

The correlation between nature connection and spirituality was identified using data from the World Values Survey, which tracks the importance of religion, belief in a higher power and faith across different countries.

Graham Usher, the bishop of Norwich and lead for environmental affairs for the Church of England, said: “We’ve long known that getting out into nature is good for body, mind and soul. In the Gospels we keep encountering Jesus going out to be alone in nature to be with God; he notices the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. I believe that what we notice we begin to love, and what we love we come to treasure, and what we treasure we want to protect. It all starts with children and is why activities like forest school and wild church are important for people and nature.”

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At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.