We all have an invisible bubble around us we like to call our “personal space.” If someone hovers inside too long, you feel uncomfortable. But everyone’s bubble size is different from culture to culture. Here’s what those bubbles look like around the world.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, shows that culture plays a significant role when it comes to personal space. Using a graphic-based survey, researchers asked 9,000 participants from 42 different countries how far strangers, acquaintances, and close friends would need to stand from them in order to feel comfortable.
Countries that greatly value their personal space include Romania, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Uganda. Participants from all five of those places would prefer it if you stood more than 120 cm away, or roughly four feet. But participants from Argentina, Peru, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Austria don’t mind if you chill about 90 cm away, or less than three feet. The U.S. isn’t too far off from that, expecting strangers to keep a cool 95 cm distance between them.
That said, nobody likes any stranger standing two and half feet or less away. So stop it. Unless you’re on a cramped metro train or something and can’t help it. It’s also important to note that women and elderly participants of all cultures required more space.
As expected, knowing somebody closes the gap for most cultures, especially if you know them pretty well. Norwegian participants, for example, get up close and personal with those they consider to be dear friends. Same goes for Germany and Romania. Saudi Arabian participants, on the other hand, said they like to keep their distance even with their best friends. The researchers suggest climate may have something to do with these differences. For instance, they found participants in colder countries were more than happy to cozy up with their close friends, maybe in an effort to keep warm.