Europe is bracing itself for a major outbreak of the coronavirus after several countries reported their first cases. Austria, Croatia, Greece and Switzerland all reported new cases involving people who had travelled to Italy after a spike in infections in the north of that country. As preparations to contain the coronavirus click into gear, it makes sense to ask a basic hygienic question: how likely are people to wash their hands?

During a night out on the town in many parts of Europe, it's relatively common to see a fellow reveller exit the toilets without washing his or her hands. According to a WIN/Gallup International survey from back in 2015 and reported by Jakub Marian, the Dutch are the European nationality least likely to automatically wash their hands after going to the toilet. The survey claims that only 50 percent of people in the Netherlands wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet compared to 96 percent of people in Bosnia & Herzegovina. by Niall McCarthy (data journalist)