Country rankings

Personal Space by Country

Romania has the highest Preferred Space between Strangers 2024 (139 cm), followed by Hungary (130 cm) and Saudi Arabia (126 cm). Argentina has the lowest (76.5 cm).

Culture195 countries · 1 metricUpdated Dec 18, 2024Original page
3 sources
Preferred Space between Strangers 2024Better directionWhether a higher or a lower value is better. A green arrow means higher is better, a red arrow means lower is better, and no arrow means neither.More in the glossary →
195 of 235 countries
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Preferred Space between Strangers 2024

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Highest first: the first 15 and last 5 of 195 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
94.36 cm
Middle half 91.77 cm – 96.61 cm
Average
95.59 cm
195 countries
Highest
139 cm
Romania
Lowest
76.5 cm
Argentina

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

195 countries · # = rank by Preferred Space between Strangers 2024
#
1Romania139 cm
2Hungary130 cm
3Saudi Arabia126 cm
4Turkey123 cm
5Uganda121 cm
6Pakistan119 cm
7Estonia118 cm
8Colombia117 cm
9Hong Kong116 cm
10China115 cm
11Germany114.8 cm
12Japan112.7 cm
13India112 cm
14United Kingdom99.4 cm
15France99.16 cm
16Italy99.13 cm
17Brazil99.11 cm
18Canada99.01 cm
19Mexico98.89 cm
20South Korea98.87 cm
21Australia98.78 cm
22Indonesia98.57 cm
23Netherlands98.56 cm
24Switzerland98.51 cm
25Poland98.47 cm
26Taiwan98.39 cm
27Belgium98.29 cm
28Sweden98.17 cm
29Ireland98.09 cm
30Norway98.04 cm
31Israel97.97 cm
32Thailand97.93 cm
33United Arab Emirates97.71 cm
34Singapore97.62 cm
35Bangladesh97.55 cm
36Philippines97.54 cm
37Vietnam97.49 cm
38Malaysia97.44 cm
39Denmark97.41 cm
40Egypt97.22 cm
41Nigeria97.21 cm
42South Africa97.16 cm
43Iran97.14 cm
44Chile97.13 cm
45Czechia96.95 cm
46Finland96.76 cm
47Iraq96.71 cm
48Portugal96.69 cm
49Kazakhstan96.67 cm
50New Zealand96.54 cm
51Qatar96.45 cm
52Algeria96.43 cm
53Kuwait96.42 cm
54Ethiopia96.4 cm
55Morocco96.39 cm
56Dominican Republic96.33 cm
57Ecuador96.24 cm
58Kenya96.22 cm
59Oman96.05 cm
60Cuba95.99 cm
61Guatemala95.95 cm
62Angola95.94 cm
63Venezuela95.91 cm
64Uzbekistan95.84 cm
65Luxembourg95.72 cm
66Sri Lanka95.7 cm
67Costa Rica95.67 cm
68Tanzania95.66 cm
69Panama95.61 cm
70Turkmenistan95.6 cm
71Croatia95.54 cm
72Ivory Coast95.44 cm
73Lithuania95.41 cm
74United States95.38 cm
74Azerbaijan95.38 cm
76Ghana95.3 cm
77Uruguay95.28 cm
78Serbia95.23 cm
79Myanmar95.21 cm
80Belarus95.15 cm
81Slovenia95.11 cm
82DR Congo95.1 cm
83Tunisia95.08 cm
84Jordan95.06 cm
85Cameroon95.05 cm
86North Korea95.03 cm
87Bolivia94.95 cm
88Latvia94.93 cm
89Bahrain94.83 cm
90Paraguay94.81 cm
91Nepal94.7 cm
92Libya94.67 cm
93Macau94.56 cm
94Lebanon94.55 cm
95El Salvador94.48 cm
96Honduras94.44 cm
97Zimbabwe94.41 cm
98Cyprus94.36 cm
99Papua New Guinea94.32 cm
100Senegal94.24 cm
101Cambodia94.22 cm
102Iceland94.17 cm
103Georgia94.12 cm
104Zambia94.08 cm
105Trinidad and Tobago93.94 cm
106Bosnia and Herzegovina93.87 cm
107Haiti93.85 cm
108Sudan93.84 cm
109Armenia93.83 cm
110Guinea93.63 cm
111Albania93.59 cm
112Mozambique93.55 cm
113Mali93.53 cm
114Yemen93.52 cm
115Burkina Faso93.44 cm
116Botswana93.3 cm
117Malta93.28 cm
118Benin93.27 cm
119Gabon93.22 cm
120Mongolia93.2 cm
121Jamaica93.16 cm
122Palestine93.12 cm
123Nicaragua93.09 cm
124Niger93.06 cm
125Guyana93.05 cm
126Moldova93.02 cm
127North Macedonia92.96 cm
128Madagascar92.86 cm
129Brunei92.79 cm
130Afghanistan92.77 cm
131Mauritius92.71 cm
132Republic of the Congo92.64 cm
133Laos92.61 cm
134Rwanda92.59 cm
135Bahamas92.44 cm
136Malawi92.42 cm
137Kyrgyzstan92.36 cm
138Namibia92.28 cm
139Chad92.24 cm
140Tajikistan92.07 cm
141Syria92 cm
142Somalia91.9 cm
143Mauritania91.85 cm
144Equatorial Guinea91.84 cm
145Togo91.82 cm
146Monaco91.8 cm
147Montenegro91.73 cm
148Maldives91.68 cm
149Liechtenstein91.65 cm
150South Sudan91.64 cm
151Barbados91.63 cm
152Fiji91.6 cm
153Eswatini91.58 cm
154Liberia91.55 cm
155Djibouti91.54 cm
156Andorra91.5 cm
157Suriname91.43 cm
158Sierra Leone91.39 cm
159Belize91.33 cm
160Burundi91.3 cm
161Greece91.2 cm
162Central African Republic91.19 cm
163Bhutan91.17 cm
164Cape Verde91.14 cm
165Saint Lucia91.1 cm
166Gambia91.02 cm
167Lesotho90.99 cm
168Eritrea90.88 cm
169Seychelles90.82 cm
170San Marino90.72 cm
171Guinea-Bissau90.69 cm
172Antigua and Barbuda90.66 cm
173Solomon Islands90.64 cm
174Comoros90.62 cm
175Grenada90.56 cm
176Spain90.5 cm
176Vanuatu90.5 cm
178Saint Kitts and Nevis90.49 cm
179Saint Vincent and the Grenadines90.47 cm
180Samoa90.29 cm
181Dominica90.27 cm
182Sao Tome and Principe90.23 cm
183Tonga90.2 cm
184Micronesia90.18 cm
185Kiribati90.06 cm
186Palau90.05 cm
187Nauru90.03 cm
188Tuvalu90 cm
189Russia89.1 cm
190Slovakia88.8 cm
191Austria88.1 cm
192Ukraine85.5 cm
193Bulgaria81.3 cm
194Peru79.6 cm
195Argentina76.5 cm

What correlates with Preferred Space between Strangers 2024?

Pearson r against 1,417 other country metrics sharing at least 117 countries. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Preferred Space between Strangers 2024 tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Total Imports 1950 to 2025Gun Exports by Country
    r = +0.48 · moderate · n = 174
    Plot
  2. Gun Imports 1990 to 1999Gun Exports by Country
    r = +0.46 · moderate · n = 154
    Plot
  3. IPv4 RankIP Address by CountryA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = −0.44 · moderate · n = 194
    Plot
  4. Gun Imports 2010 to 2019Gun Exports by Country
    r = +0.43 · moderate · n = 164
    Plot
  5. Share of All Chinese Products ExportedChina Exports by Country
    r = +0.42 · moderate · n = 190
    Plot
  6. Citrus Yield/ProductionFruit Production by Country
    r = +0.39 · moderate · n = 132
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Preferred Space between Strangers 2024 tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. Global FirePower IndexMilitary Strength Index by Country
    r = −0.32 · moderate · n = 144
    Plot
  2. Avg Winter TempBest Weather by Country
    r = −0.27 · weak · n = 194
    Plot
  3. EconomyFailed States
    r = −0.26 · weak · n = 177
    Plot
  4. Mortality To Incidence RatioCervical Cancer Rates by Country
    r = −0.26 · weak · n = 175
    Plot
  5. Brain DrainFailed States
    r = −0.25 · weak · n = 177
    Plot
  6. Starvation Rate Change vs Prev. YearStarvation Deaths by Country
    r = −0.25 · weak · n = 160
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Preferred Space between Strangers 2024?
Romania has the highest Preferred Space between Strangers 2024, at 139 cm, followed by Hungary (130 cm) and Saudi Arabia (126 cm).
Which country has the lowest Preferred Space between Strangers 2024?
Argentina has the lowest Preferred Space between Strangers 2024, at 76.5 cm.
What is the median Preferred Space between Strangers 2024 across countries?
The median is 94.36 cm across the 195 countries with data.
Where does this personal space by country data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Ranked: Countries with the most (and least) personal space, 2024 - CeoWorld; Preferred Interpersonal Distances: A Global Comparison - Research Gate; Study Reveals How Much Personal Space People Prefer Around The World - AskMen.