In which European country do people think they are most culturally superior?
Have you heard of cultural chauvinism? It's the belief that one's own country's culture is superior to others. And, it may or may not surprise you, but it is quite common in Europe.
It is a burning question, so Pew Research suestioned 56,000 adults across the continent to see just who thinks they are the best and who is the most humble. The results were also published by Statista.
Respondents were asked whether they agreed with the statement "our people are not perfect but our culture is superior to others"
Image: Nk Ni / Unsplash
Greece leads the way with 89% affirmative responses. Not too surprising for a country often regarded as one of the cradles of European culture!
Image: Hans Reniers / Unsplash
Near Greece, Balkan countries show high levels of agreement with the statement: 69% in Bulgaria, 68% in Bosnia, 66% in Romania, and 65% in Serbia.
Image: Dimitrije Milenkovic / Unsplash
With a highly nationalistic government, Russia also exhibits a high percentage (69%) of "culturally chauvinistic" people.
Several other European states scored at least 50%, including Norway (58%), the Czech Republic and Poland (55% each), and Switzerland (50%).
Though not reaching a majority of positive responses, Italy and Portugal are relatively chauvinistic culturally, with 47% of respondents approving the premise.
Similar results were observed on the British Isles, with 46% positive responses in the United Kingdom, a country known for its pride in its long history. What about Ireland? 42%!
Despite the turmoil it experienced in the 20th century, the Germanic world remains proud of its culture: 47% of Austrians and 45% of Germans surveyed believe their culture is superior to others.
Despite its rich cultural heritage and snobby reputation, France shows a lower result with only 36% positive responses, one of the lowest rates among the major European states.
This is comparable to the Baltic countries: 37% of respondents in Lithuania and 38% in Latvia answered affirmatively.
Image: Gilly / Unsplash
The Benelux countries show little cultural nationalism: only 31% of Dutch and 23% of Belgians surveyed agreed with the statement.
Image: François Genon / Unsplash
Spain occupies the very last position in Europe, with only 20% of respondents considering their culture superior to others.
Image: Daniel Corneschi / Unsplash
It's worth noting that some states were not studied, such as Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, and Turkey.
What can we learn from such a survey? It may reflect an unwelcome resurgence of nationalism in Europe... or a non-aggressive pride linked to ancient cultural forms and pride.
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