Science Nautilus Which Country Is Most Narcissistic?

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Accusations of narcissism are so rampant today in popular culture that the term may be on the road to losing all meaning. But in our era of self-absorbed social media, some psychologists report that the trait—meant to describe someone who is low on empathy and inflated with self-regard—may be on the rise, particularly among young people, particularly in the West.

Recently, a team of scientists set out to determine what demographic and cultural factors actually count when it comes to the prevalence of narcissism. The results were surprising. For one thing, the team discovered that narcissism may feature more widely across cultures than they had thought, though the demographics were similar everywhere they looked.

But they also found that, contrary to expectations, the United States did not top the list of most narcissistic nations. Instead, the researchers deemed Germany the most narcissistic, followed by Iraq, China, Nepal, and South Korea. The least narcissistic countries on the list were Serbia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark. They published their results in the journal Self and Identity.

Read more: “What Makes a Narcissist?”

“We found that there were differences across cultures, including that people from higher GDP countries were more narcissistic, but the degree to which younger adults were narcissistic compared to older adults didn’t matter much on what country you were from,” said co-author William Chopik, a Michigan State University psychology researcher, in a statement.

To take the global temperature on narcissism, the authors analyzed data from more than 45,000 people in 53 countries, focusing specifically on a classic form of narcissism known as the grandiose type, which features self-promotion and attention seeking as well as darker features such as competitiveness and disparaging others. The team then tried to map these traits onto factors such as age, gender, perceived social status, and two features of national culture—how collectivist or individualistic a country is and its GDP per capita.

One of the most surprising findings was that narcissism was not limited to high-income or individualist countries, but was a fixture in many diverse cultures. In fact, collectivist countries, such as China and Nepal, were often found to be high in narcissism, particularly the status-seeking and admiration-craving kind. Perhaps it is a trait that helps people navigate complex social hierarchies, the scientists theorized.

People in higher-income countries also ranked relatively high in narcissism, which surprised the study authors, who had expected that lower-income countries might more frequently reward the kind of competitiveness common in narcissism. The scientists hypothesized that the reason for this is that people in high-GDP countries are often more prone to obsession with status and prestige.

Another unexpected finding: Culture rarely had any impact on the basic underlying demographic factors—being young, male, and high status—that predicted higher rates of narcissism. That means that while cultures may differ in terms of their average levels of narcissism, the kinds of people who tend toward the trait are pretty much the same the world over.

For the young, narcissism can play an important role in the development of autonomy, identity, and self-esteem, the authors point out. “These traits might manifest as heightened self-esteem, a strong desire for personal success, and a tendency to seek social recognition and validation,” they write. “As people age, however, their focus tends to shift from personal growth to prosocial engagement, potentially leading to a decline in narcissistic traits.”

More men than women were also found to be narcissistic, a finding they attributed to societal expectations. In many cultures, men are socialized to be more assertive and dominant, traits that align with certain aspects of narcissism.

In the end, narcissism appears to be shaped by universal human drives, not specific cultural and time-bound historical forces, the authors note. That’s good news and bad news. It means our current cultural moment may not be more conducive to self-absorption, but it also means that the trait isn’t likely going anywhere. It’s part of who we are as a species.

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This story was originally featured on Nautilus.