I recently came across a World Population Review, Most Patriotic Countries, 2024, which included cross-country survey data on patriotism. For example:
Hmmm... “best country in the world” - well, that’s one take on patriotism. But more the American kind and not much of a factor in other countries (excepting India and Australia). I imagine one can feel deeply committed to one’s country without thinking it’s the best in the world, as is clear from the results of another cross-country survey:
Willingness to fight for one’s country appears unrelated to believing one’s country compares favorably to others*. I’m guessing it’s more connected to local norms, sense of threat, and still raw memories of recent conflicts.
If not the best, or at least good enough to die for, how about simple national pride? Where do the countries rank in that rather uncontroversial understanding of patriotism? Here’s the survey:
Venezuela? I’m guessing that’s because the survey is 20 years old, aka the early Hugo Chavez years. That was a time of optimism and social reform, made possible by record-high oil revenues. As for the other countries, I detect national themes of historic struggle followed by triumph, of creating something grand out of initially slim pickins, specifically the US, Australia, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, and Israel - a kind of rags to riches story. Actually, that would apply to Venezuela as well. And perhaps even Austria, Chile, and the Philippines; in other words, a feeling of having overcome adversity. Maybe that feeling is essential to pride in general, whether personal or national.
But I’d take these national pride rankings with a grain of salt, the scores are too similar, the differences too small, to draw any firm conclusions.
—
* For comparison, 44% of US respondents indicated they were willing to fight for their country.