Germany has the highest levels of narcissism in the world, according to a new study from Michigan State University.
Researchers analysed the survey responses of 45,000 people from 53 countries about their own traits and tendencies.
Germany was joined in the top five by Iraq, China, Nepal and South Korea, as the countries with the most narcissistic respondents overall.
The five countries with the lowest overall narcissism scores were Serbia, Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark. Meanwhile, the US was in the top third, at number 16 out of 53.
“Most of what we know about narcissism comes from studies conducted in Western countries – often in the US,” William Chopik – associate professor of personality psychology at Michigan State University, and one of the researchers behind the study – told BBC Science Focus.
“The US often comes up in public discourse as the example of narcissism, so people might expect it to be far and away the highest. In reality, the US was toward the higher end, but it certainly wasn’t at the extreme.”
Previous research has estimated that around 1 in 20 people in the US meet the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder.
“The truth is, there was a wide range of narcissism in every country,” said Chopik. “Each one had their own mix of people who were narcissistic and people who were self-effacing.”
Age, gender and social status
Across all the countries analysed, the psychologists found higher levels of narcissism among younger people.
“For younger people, narcissism may actually serve some developmental purposes,” he said. “Early adulthood is a time when people are trying to establish an identity, gain independence and compete for status. Traits like confidence and self-focus can be useful in that context.”
When it came to gender, men were more likely to score highly for narcissistic traits than women, and the researchers suggested this might be due to widespread, internalised beliefs about male dominance.
The study also found more narcissism among respondents who said they held more status. This could be because more narcissistic people seek higher-status positions, or because higher-status individuals believe they deserve more privilege and respect, the researchers concluded.
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The two types of narcissism
Narcissism is a complex set of traits, so the psychologists behind the study broke it down even further, splitting their analysis into two parts: admiration and rivalry.
Narcissistic admiration describes traits which serve the self, such as inflated self-esteem or boasting about achievements.
These traits were most prevalent in Nigeria, Iraq, China, Nepal and Turkey – and they were lowest in Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Russia and the UK.
Meanwhile, narcissistic rivalry focuses on the tensions that a narcissist might create with others, defending themselves or putting others down.
Here, the highest scorers were Germany, South Korea, Nepal, Iraq and Romania – and the lowest were Serbia, Mexico, Colombia, Austria and South Africa.
Collectivism vs individualism
The researchers expected to find lower levels of narcissism in countries known to emphasise the importance of the collective or group – but instead found the opposite.
Survey respondents from more collectivistic – rather than individualistic – cultures generally reported higher levels of narcissistic admiration.
“That challenges the simple story that narcissism is just a byproduct of individualistic cultures, or how collectivistic countries are idealised as perfectly harmonious and selfless,” said Chopik.
“Narcissists were present everywhere, and the sensitivity to hierarchies in collectivistic countries may exacerbate this.”
The most collectivist countries in this study were Senegal, Bangladesh, Morocco, Nepal and Iraq, whereas the most individualistic countries were Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Finland.
The psychologists also found that people from richer countries had higher levels of narcissism, perhaps because wealthier societies might place more value on achievements and self-promotion.
Overall, Chopik said he hoped this research would help people develop a more nuanced view of narcissism.
“It’s not confined to one country, one generation or one type of person,” he said. “It shows up everywhere, often in predictable ways, and sometimes for understandable reasons.”
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