We may need to revisit some of our assumptions about narcissism, after new research mapped out which countries score highest for narcissistic traits — undermining the common belief that the trait is most closely tied to highly individualistic nations.
In recent years, “narcissism” has become a catch-all label, frequently used for someone seen as self-absorbed or emotionally manipulative — especially when talking about dating and sex. In psychological terms, narcissistic tendencies can involve grandiosity and low empathy, while narcissistic personality disorder is described as a mental health condition in which ‘people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance’ (via Mayo Clinic).
A 2026 study adds more context by comparing self-reported narcissism across borders. To move beyond the Western-heavy focus common in earlier work, researchers at Michigan State University reviewed survey responses from roughly 45,000 people across 53 countries, looking at how participants described their own traits and behaviours.
One striking takeaway: the five highest-ranking countries did not include the United States, despite its frequent portrayal as the prime example of narcissism — a reputation William Chopik, associate professor of personality psychology at Michigan State University and a study author, directly addressed.
“Most of what we know about narcissism comes from studies conducted in Western countries – often in the US,” Chopik 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.”
“The truth is, there was a wide range of narcissism in every country,” Chopik continued. “Each one had their own mix of people who were narcissistic and people who were self-effacing.”
So which countries ranked highest overall? The top five were Germany (highest), then Iraq, China, Nepal and South Korea. At the other end of the scale, the most self-effacing countries were Serbia, Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark.
The United States still landed above average — placing in the top third — but it came in at 16th out of 53 rather than near the very top.
The dataset also reflected patterns often seen in personality research: younger participants tended to report more narcissistic traits, and men were more likely than women to score higher on these measures.
“For younger people, narcissism may actually serve some developmental purposes,” Chopik 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.”
On the gender gap, the researchers suggested wider cultural messages — including internalised ideas about male dominance — could be one factor shaping these differences.
To dig deeper, the team separated narcissism into two related dimensions: admiration and rivalry.
Narcissistic admiration is linked to self-enhancing behaviours such as high self-regard and talking up accomplishments. Rivalry, by contrast, captures the more combative side — defensiveness, one-upmanship, and putting others down.
Admiration scores were highest in Nigeria, Iraq, China, Nepal and Turkey, and lowest in Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Russia and the UK.
For rivalry, the highest-scoring countries were Germany, South Korea, Nepal, Iraq and Romania, while the lowest were Serbia, Mexico, Colombia, Austria and South Africa.
The researchers also anticipated that countries with a stronger emphasis on the collective would show lower narcissism — but the results ran counter to that expectation.
In this analysis, respondents in more collectivistic cultures (including Senegal, Bangladesh, Morocco, Nepal and Iraq) generally reported higher narcissistic admiration than those in more individualistic countries (including Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Finland).
“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.”
Lastly, the findings suggested status is closely intertwined with narcissism at a national level. People living in wealthier countries showed higher overall narcissism, which the researchers linked to the possibility that affluent societies may reward achievement and self-promotion more strongly.
“It’s not confined to one country, one generation or one type of person,” Chopik concluded. “It shows up everywhere, often in predictable ways, and sometimes for understandable reasons.”