← News Data story · Hofstede cultural dimensions The shape of
The shape of
national culture.
Geert Hofstede mapped how societies differ along a handful of dimensions. Two of the most telling: power distance — how readily people accept hierarchy — and individualism — “I” versus “we”. They tend to move together: flat, individualist societies on one side; hierarchical, collectivist ones on the other.
Power distance vs individualism
65 countries · right = more hierarchical, up = more individualist.
Europe & Central AsiaAmericasEast Asia & PacificSouth AsiaMiddle East & North AfricaSub-Saharan Africa
The extremes
Most individualist
Most collectivist
Most hierarchical
Flattest
↔ Explore all 7 cultural dimensions interactively
Pick any two of the five Hofstede dimensions or the two Inglehart-Welzel axes on the interactive map. Source: Hofstede cultural dimensions. Compare with the Inglehart-Welzel map →