Personal values research: Personal Values in 2021

In 2021, 224,096 assessments were completed on Personalvalu.es. Health was the value ranked most often, by 45.8% of them, and Family the one most often put first.

Download 2021 report

At a glance, 2021

Assessments224,096 completed across 12 months of data.: 224k
Appearance rateranked Health among their ten, more than any other value.: 45.8%
First placeput Family first, the value most often ranked first.: 13.0%
Top threeput Health in their top three, the most of any value.: 25.1%

The Most Popular Personal Values in 2021

The ten values ranked most often in 2021, beside the ten most often put first. The two lists answer different questions, so a value can be widely held and still rarely come first.

Ranked most often

The share of assessments whose ranked ten includes the value.

1
Health
Included in 45.8% of assessments
45.8%
2Family
41.3%
3Trust
37.6%
4Peace
35.2%
5Financial stability
32.5%
6Pleasure
32.4%
7Love
31.5%
8Freedom
30.9%
9Respect
27.9%
10Security
25.0%

Share of the 224,096 assessments completed in 2021 whose ranked ten includes the value. Bars run from 0% to 50%.

Put first most often

The share of assessments that put the value in position one.

1
Family
Put first in 13.0% of assessments
13.0%
2Health
10.4%
3Peace
4.5%
4Love
4.5%
5Trust
3.8%
6Religion
3.5%
7Financial stability
3.2%
8Freedom
3.1%
9Security
3.1%
10Pleasure
3.0%

Share of the 224,096 assessments completed in 2021 that put the value first. Bars run from 0% to 15%.

What Changed from 2020

The same ten values led in 2020 and 2021, though not always in the same order. Appreciation gained the most share, from 11.7% to 13.9%.

Each rate is a share of its own year's assessments, so years of different sizes compare directly. Changes are in percentage points of that share, and the arrow is the value's move in the ranking. 2020 holds 6 months of data and 2021 12, so part of a difference can be the season a year's months fall in.

Rose most

Values whose appearance rate rose most from 2020 to 2021
Value	2020	2021	Points
Appreciation	11.7%	13.9%▲5	+2.2
Wealth	13.9%	15.6%▲4	+1.7
Success	15.3%	16.9%▲3	+1.7
Financial stability	30.9%	32.5%▲2	+1.6
Freedom	29.7%	30.9%	+1.2

Fell most

Values whose appearance rate fell most from 2020 to 2021
Value	2020	2021	Points
Equality	19.3%	17.0%▼7	−2.3
Ambition	10.8%	9.8%▼2	−1.1
Trust	38.7%	37.6%	−1.1
Compassion	19.4%	18.4%▼1	−1.0
Authenticity	22.4%	21.5%	−0.9

2021 Month by Month

How many assessments each month held, and the value ranked most often in it.

Assessments and most frequently ranked value by month, 2021
Month	Assessments	Ranked most often
January	19,519	Health45.3%
February	19,912	Health45.7%
March	21,008	Health46.5%
April	15,476	Health45.8%
May	14,093	Health45.9%
June	11,368	Health46.7%
July	11,078	Health46.8%
August	21,101	Health45.9%
September	29,056	Health45.1%
October	25,350	Health45.3%
November	20,658	Health45.0%
December	15,477	Health47.9%

The measures

Every core value, by each measure

“Most popular” can mean several things. The page uses four measures, each answering a different question, and they order the values differently. That is why they are never merged into a single score.

Appearance rate: How often is a value ranked at all?The share of assessments whose final ten includes the value. This is what the popular values chart shows.45.8%Health, the highest in 2021
First place: How often is it the single most important one?The share of assessments that put the value in position one.13.0%Family, the highest in 2021
Top three: How often does it reach the very top?The share of assessments that put the value anywhere in positions one to three.25.1%Health, the highest in 2021
Average position: How high does it sit when it is chosen?The mean position, from 1 to 10, over the assessments that include the value. Lower is higher.3.63Family, the best in 2021

Appearance rate, first-place rate, top-three rate and average position for all 62 values in 2021. The number is the position by appearance rate. Column headings sort the table.
	Value
1	Health	45.84%	10.44%	25.12%	3.83
2	Family	41.28%	12.97%	24.13%	3.63
3	Trust	37.64%	3.77%	13.20%	4.93
4	Peace	35.24%	4.55%	14.14%	4.73
5	Financial stability	32.53%	3.17%	11.87%	4.84
6	Pleasure	32.43%	2.98%	10.73%	5.09
7	Love	31.49%	4.54%	13.09%	4.66
8	Freedom	30.87%	3.14%	7.00%	6.51
9	Respect	27.91%	1.74%	7.34%	5.53
10	Security	25.04%	3.10%	10.25%	4.71
11	Growth	24.61%	2.12%	6.91%	5.52
12	Friendship	23.56%	1.52%	6.07%	5.72
13	Authenticity	21.46%	1.96%	6.58%	5.27
14	Honesty	21.00%	1.17%	4.99%	5.77
15	Loyalty	20.48%	1.47%	5.30%	5.65
16	Creativity	19.62%	1.38%	4.79%	5.80
17	Curiosity	18.60%	1.14%	4.33%	5.84
18	Compassion	18.40%	1.47%	5.05%	5.57
19	Control	18.16%	2.27%	6.90%	5.02
20	Certainty	18.15%	2.40%	7.01%	4.91
21	Wisdom	17.26%	1.43%	4.65%	5.70
22	Ethics	17.25%	1.66%	4.27%	6.23
23	Helpfulness	17.00%	0.90%	2.51%	7.18
24	Meaningful work	16.99%	1.08%	3.47%	6.36
25	Equality	16.95%	2.17%	5.52%	5.45
26	Success	16.94%	1.36%	4.41%	5.75
27	Discipline	16.69%	1.51%	5.47%	5.17
28	Wealth	15.58%	1.65%	5.42%	5.05
29	Independence	15.45%	0.84%	3.11%	6.21
30	Justice	15.43%	1.19%	3.78%	6.06
31	Accountability	15.15%	0.84%	3.62%	5.68
32	Adventure	14.96%	0.91%	3.51%	5.84
33	Privacy	14.28%	0.76%	3.19%	5.86
34	Intelligence	14.06%	0.88%	2.89%	6.24
35	Appreciation	13.89%	0.54%	2.46%	6.21
36	Tolerance	13.44%	0.75%	2.46%	6.71
37	Inner harmony	13.21%	1.87%	4.40%	5.31
38	Job security	12.91%	0.71%	3.54%	5.40
39	Challenge	12.82%	0.63%	2.75%	5.99
40	Courage	11.06%	0.50%	2.17%	6.10
41	Passion	11.00%	0.57%	2.12%	6.25
42	Acceptance	10.82%	0.46%	1.96%	6.31
43	Excitement	10.24%	0.34%	1.66%	6.41
44	Ambition	9.75%	0.58%	1.91%	6.38
45	Determination	9.73%	0.47%	1.74%	6.36
46	Commitment	9.65%	0.37%	1.29%	7.18
47	Religion	9.33%	3.47%	5.48%	3.74
48	Forgiveness	8.78%	0.43%	1.81%	6.12
49	Teamwork	8.58%	0.33%	1.20%	6.94
50	Spirituality	8.34%	0.97%	2.50%	5.64
51	Uniqueness	7.11%	0.38%	1.36%	6.23
52	Competence	6.30%	0.24%	0.93%	6.77
53	Variety	6.24%	0.21%	1.00%	6.48
54	Excellence	5.52%	0.31%	1.11%	6.22
55	Contribution	5.38%	0.18%	0.76%	6.84
56	Influence	5.36%	0.19%	0.84%	6.49
57	Beauty	5.02%	0.23%	0.83%	6.63
58	Reputation	4.71%	0.17%	0.69%	6.68
59	Tradition	4.58%	0.24%	1.02%	6.05
60	Authority	2.90%	0.12%	0.49%	6.45
61	Fame	2.55%	0.15%	0.54%	6.18
62	Popularity	2.51%	0.10%	0.39%	6.69

Figures for the 224,096 assessments completed in 2021, given to two decimal places. The number is each value's position by appearance rate. Select a column heading to sort by it.

Every Year on Record

Each year on a page of its own, read the same way as this one.

About These Figures

Every figure on this page is a share of the assessments completed on Personalvalu.es in 2021, read from the same aggregates as the Global Values Research. A value counts when it is one of the ten a participant puts in order at the end, so the rates describe the people who took part that year and say nothing on their own about why.

How the aggregates are built, and why some countries and groups are left out, is set out in the methodology. The 2021 statistics list every value with its trend against the year before.

Would your own ten look like 2021's? Rank your own values.