Just 5% of Dutch households entertain visitors at home at least once a week, while 83% have guests less than once a month or never, according to an international online survey of 17 countries by research group GFK.

The definition of ‘receiving guests’ include dinner parties, visits by friends, watching a film together or simply having a cup of coffee.

Mexicans and Argentinians are most likely to have visitors to their homes. Some 42% of Mexican households and 39% of Argentine families entertain visitors at least once a week.

Overall, households with young children and people in their twenties are the most frequent hosts, the survey found.

In the Netherlands, which came bottom in the ranking alongside Japan, 12% of households with children under the age of six have visitors at least once a week.  But 19% of the people surveyed said they never entertained guests at all.