Data note for cross-country data on social cohesion and Covid-19

Figures & data

Table 1. Indicators included in the three social cohesion indices.

	Social Cohesion Index	No. countries	Sub-Index	Source
1	Societal polarization: Rating of differences of opinion on major political issues in this society	177	intergroup	Varieties of Democracy database, Gothenburg University
2	Confidence in law and order: “Do you have confidence in the local police force, feel safe walking alone at night, had money or property stolen or have been assaulted or mugged?”	134	intergroup	World Happiness Report-Gallup
3	Group grievance: Rating of legacy of vengeance-seeking group grievance or group paranoia	178	intergroup	Fund for Peace/Fragile States Index
4	Terrorist attacks: Terrorist coded attacks based on weighted average of last four years (2016–2019) of 9 types	138	intergroup	Global Terrorism Database (GTD)
5	Deaths in organized conflict (>25): Rating on deaths in organized conflict (at least 25 deaths)	38	intergroup	Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)
6	Guerilla conflict instances: Log instances of guerrilla conflict per log capita	56	intergroup	Cross-National Time Series Data Archive
7	Political risk: Average values of all indicators of the International Country Risk Guide	138	intergroup	International Country Risk Guide
8	Internal conflict: Rating of the level of internal conflict	140	intergroup	International Country Risk Guide
9	Risk of terrorism: Rating of risk of terrorism	134	intergroup	IEP Global Terrorism Index
10	Riots: Log riots per log capita	133	intergroup	Cross national Time Series Data Archive
11	Felt unsafe at home: Felt unsafe in home, % “never”	34	safety & trust	Afrobarometer
12	Trust family: Trust your family, % “not very much” or “not at all”	73	safety & trust	World Values Surveys
13	Trust people meet for the first time: Trust people you meet for the first time, % “not very much” or “not at all”	73	safety & trust	World Values Surveys
14	Trust people you know personally: Trust people you know personally, % “not very much” or “not at all”	73	safety & trust	World Values Surveys
15	Most people can be trusted: “Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?” % “yes”	18	safety & trust	Latinobarometer
16	Had stuff stolen from home: Had stuff stolen from home, % “never”	34	safety & trust	Afrobarometer
17	Have not been attacked: % have not been attacked	34	safety & trust	Afrobarometer
18	Feel safe in their area at night: % Feel safe in their area at night	40	safety & trust	European Social Survey
19	Prefers not to go out at night: % “yes”	42	safety & trust	World Values Surveys
20	Theft of motorized land vehicle: Theft of motorized land vehicle, police recorded offences, p/100,000 pop.	60	safety & trust	UN Office On Drugs and Crime
21	Theft: Theft, police recorded offences, per 100,000 population	74	safety & trust	UN Office On Drugs and Crime
22	Sexual exploitation: Sexual exploitation per 100,000 inhabitants	44	safety & trust	UN Office On Drugs and Crime
23	Crime victim: “Have you, or someone in your family, been assaulted, attacked, or victim of crime in the last 12 months?” % “yes”	18	safety & trust	Latinobarometer
24	Freq. alcohol on streets: Frequency of alcohol consumed on the streets in your neighbourhood, % “very frequently” and “quite frequently”	42	safety & trust	World Values Surveys
25	Freq. drug sale in neighbourhood: Frequency of drug sale in streets in your neighborhood, % “very frequently” and “quite frequently”	42	safety & trust	World Values Surveys
26	Freq. robbery in neighbourhood: Frequency of robberies in your neighbourhood, % “very frequently” and “quite frequently”	42	safety & trust	World Values Surveys
27	Victim crime in neighbourhood: Have you been victim of any crime in the past 12 months, % “yes”	43	safety & trust	Americas Barometer
28	Victim of attempted murder: Have you been victim of attempted murder in the past 12 months, % “yes”	5	safety & trust	UN Office On Drugs and Crime
29	Kidnapping Rate: Have you been victim of attempted kidnapping in the past 12 months, % “yes”	65	safety & trust	UN Office On Drugs and Crime
30	Homicide rate: homicide rate	183	safety & trust	UN Crime and Justice Information Network
31	Satisfied freedom to choose in life: Are you satisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life? % “yes”	144	safety & trust	World Happiness Report-Gallup
32	Trust neighbourhood: Trust your neighbourhood, % “not very much” or “not at all”	73	safety & trust	World Values Surveys

Source: Indices of Social Development, two web pages: (1) https://isd.iss.nl/home/intergroup-cohesion/ and (2) https://isd.iss.nl/home/interpersonal-safety-and-trust/.

Table 2. Data from secondary sources.

Variable	Description	Source
Covid cases per 10,000	Cases: Counts include confirmed and probable (where reported)	Covid-19 Data Repository CSSE, Johns Hopkins University
Covid deaths per 10,000	Deaths: Counts include confirmed and probable (where reported)	Covid-19 Data Repository CSSE, Johns Hopkins University
Excess deaths	Excess mortality estimates associated with Covid-19	WHO
GDP per capita	GDP per capita is gross domestic product divided by midyear population. Data are in constant 2015 U.S. dollars	World Bank
Hospital beds per thousand	The number of hospital beds available per every 1,000 inhabitants in a population	World Bank
Percentage over 65	Population aged 65 and above as a percentage of the total population	World Bank
Health expenditure % GDP	Level of current health expenditure expressed as a percentage of GDP	World Bank
Universal health coverage	All people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship, %	WHO
Gini index	The extent to which the distribution of income among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution	World Bank
Developing countries	Countries with low and lower middle incomes	World Bank
Democracy index	Democracy ratings	Varieties of Democracy database, Gothenburg University
Public services index	The presence of basic state functions that serve the people	Fund for Peace/Fragile States Index
Governance performance index	Perceptions of the quality of public services, the civil service and the degree of independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government’s commitment to such policies	World Bank
Corruption index	Perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and grand forms of corruption, as well as “capture” of the state by elites and private interests.	World Bank

Data availability statement

The dataset is called Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World Dataset. It is available in the following repository: https://datarepository.eur.nl/articles/dataset/Surviving_Together_Social_Cohesion_and_Covid-19_Infections_and_Mortality_Across_the_World_Database/23523690. The DOI of the dataset is: https://doi.org/10.25397/eur.23523690.v2. Appendix A provides the Stata code for calculating the Social Cohesion Index for other years (from 1990 onwards).