Personal value statistics: Independence
Independence appeared in the ranked ten of 14.8% of the 2,099,004 assessments completed since 2020, which makes it the 29th most frequently ranked of the 62 core values.
At a glance, 2020 to 2026
- Appearance rateof assessments rank it in their ten. 29th of 62 values.
- 14.8%
- First placeof assessments put it first. 34th of 62 on this measure.
- 0.8%
- Top threeof assessments put it in the top three. 20% of those who rank it.
- 2.9%
- Average positionis its mean position, out of ten, where it is ranked at all.
- 6.2
In the overall ranking independence sits just below Helpfulness (14.8%) and just above Adventure (14.6%).
How the Popularity of Independence Has Changed
In 2020 independence appeared in 14.7% of assessments and ranked 31st. In 2026 so far it appeared in 15.3% and ranked 25th, a rise of 0.7 percentage points.
Pick a measure, and read it by year or month by month. A month holds a few thousand assessments, so it moves more than a year does. The gaps are months the archive has no data for.
Independence, year by year
Each rank is among the 62 values that year, by appearance rate. The arrow is its move from the year before.
| Year | Assessments | Appearance rate | Rank | First place | Top three | Average position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 84,378 | 14.7% | 31st | 0.8% | 2.9% | 6.2 |
| 2021 | 224,096 | 15.4% | 29th▲2 | 0.8% | 3.1% | 6.2 |
| 2022 | 179,271 | 15.3% | 30th▼1 | 0.9% | 3.1% | 6.2 |
| 2023 | 397,249 | 15.0% | 29th▲1 | 0.9% | 3.1% | 6.2 |
| 2024 | 460,244 | 14.5% | 29th | 0.8% | 2.9% | 6.2 |
| 2025 | 449,233 | 13.9% | 29th | 0.7% | 2.6% | 6.3 |
| 2026 so far | 304,533 | 15.3% | 25th▲4 | 0.8% | 3.0% | 6.3 |
2020 holds 6 months of data and 2022 holds 7 months of data, so their figures cover part of the year. 2026 covers January to September 2026.
Independence by Country
Of the 25 countries with enough assessments to publish, participants in Poland rank independence most often, at 21.7%, and those in Hong Kong SAR China least often, at 10.6%.
Country is recorded for the assessments from December 2025 to September 2026, so this section reads those 272,982 assessments and compares each country with all of them.
Where independence is ranked most often
15.2% of participants rank independence in their top ten, from 21.7% in Poland to 10.6% in Hong Kong SAR China. Tap or hover a country to see its top values.
- 10–12%
- 12–14%
- 14–16%
- 16–18%
- 18–20%
- 20–22%
- too few assessments
| Country | Appearance rate | vs average (pp) | Rank there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | 21.7% | +6.5 | 16th of 62 |
| France | 20.7% | +5.5 | 19th of 62 |
| Italy | 19.9% | +4.6 | 16th of 62 |
| Ireland | 19.5% | +4.3 | 18th of 62 |
| Germany | 19.1% | +3.9 | 18th of 62 |
| Switzerland | 18.8% | +3.6 | 20th of 62 |
| Romania | 17.7% | +2.4 | 22nd of 62 |
| Netherlands | 17.2% | +2.0 | 22nd of 62 |
| Mexico | 16.8% | +1.6 | 25th of 62 |
| United Arab Emirates | 16.4% | +1.2 | 24th of 62 |
| New Zealand | 16.1% | +0.9 | 23rd of 62 |
| Canada | 15.6% | +0.4 | 24th of 62 |
| United States | 15.2% | −0.0 | 26th of 62 |
| Malaysia | 14.9% | −0.3 | 28th of 62 |
| South Africa | 14.9% | −0.3 | 28th of 62 |
| Australia | 14.9% | −0.3 | 26th of 62 |
| Singapore | 14.8% | −0.5 | 29th of 62 |
| India | 14.5% | −0.7 | 27th of 62 |
| United Kingdom | 14.5% | −0.7 | 27th of 62 |
| Indonesia | 13.8% | −1.4 | 36th of 62 |
| Saudi Arabia | 13.0% | −2.2 | 33rd of 62 |
| Brazil | 12.3% | −2.9 | 38th of 62 |
| Egypt | 11.6% | −3.6 | 34th of 62 |
| Philippines | 10.8% | −4.4 | 37th of 62 |
| Hong Kong SAR China | 10.6% | −4.6 | 40th of 62 |
Every assessment with a known country, 15.2%
Independence by Age
Independence is ranked less often with age, from 16.8% of assessments among participants under 18 to 15.8% among those 65 and over, about 0.3 points per band.
Age is an optional question after the ranking, so this section reads the 66,624 assessments from December 2025 to September 2026 whose participants gave one. A difference between bands mixes what changes as people age with what differs between generations.
| Age | Appearance rate | vs average (pp) | Rank there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16.8% | +0.9 | 22nd of 62 |
| 18–24 | 16.5% | +0.5 | 26th of 62 |
| 25–34 | 15.8% | −0.2 | 26th of 62 |
| 35–44 | 14.6% | −1.3 | 28th of 62 |
| 45–54 | 15.6% | −0.4 | 25th of 62 |
| 55–64 | 15.9% | −0.1 | 27th of 62 |
| 65 and over | 15.8% | −0.2 | 22nd of 62 |
Everyone who gave an age, 16.0%
Independence by Gender
Women rank independence more often than men, by 2.9 percentage points.
Gender is optional too, asked beside age, so this section reads the 64,656 assessments from December 2025 to September 2026 whose participants gave one. “Prefer not to say” is counted in no group.
| Gender | Appearance rate | vs average (pp) | Rank there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 17.1% | +1.2 | 21st of 62 |
| Men | 14.2% | −1.8 | 31st of 62 |
| Non-binary | 16.5% | +0.6 | 28th of 62 |
Everyone who gave a gender, 15.9%
About These Figures
Every figure on this page is a share of completed assessments on Personalvalu.es, read from the same aggregates as the Global Values Research. The appearance rate is how often independence is among a participant's ten most important values. It is not a score, and a difference between groups describes the participants in them without explaining it.
How the aggregates are built, and why some countries and groups are left out, is set out in the methodology. Month-by-month figures for every value are in the monthly archive.
Statistics for every value
- Acceptance
- Accountability
- Adventure
- Ambition
- Appreciation
- Authenticity
- Authority
- Beauty
- Certainty
- Challenge
- Commitment
- Compassion
- Competence
- Contribution
- Control
- Courage
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Determination
- Discipline
- Equality
- Ethics
- Excellence
- Excitement
- Fame
- Family
- Financial stability
- Forgiveness
- Freedom
- Friendship
- Growth
- Health
- Helpfulness
- Honesty
- Independence
- Influence
- Inner harmony
- Intelligence
- Job security
- Justice
- Love
- Loyalty
- Meaningful work
- Passion
- Peace
- Pleasure
- Popularity
- Privacy
- Religion
- Reputation
- Respect
- Security
- Spirituality
- Success
- Teamwork
- Tolerance
- Tradition
- Trust
- Uniqueness
- Variety
- Wealth
- Wisdom
Where does independence stand among your own values? Rank your own values.