Societal Risk Perception: A Comparison of 19 Countries

The study was aimed at structuring the crosscountry differences in risk perception that have been reported in the literature, using cluster analysis. A 30-hazard x 19-country matrix was composed using as inputs the mean risk estimation levels available in the literature, and cluster analysis was conducted on this matrix. Six clusters of countries were found: A Communist bloc cluster (USSR and Hungary), a Nordic cluster (Finland, Norway, Sweden), an Arab cluster (Egypt and Kuwait), a Developing countries cluster (Brazil and South Korea), a Western cluster (France, Portugal, Spain, USA), and a cluster comprised of four countries or territories (Burkina Faso, China-Hong-Kong, China-Macao, Russia) which only common denominator seems to be that these countries are countries in which many economical and/or societal problems exist. The factors that may explain this clustering are discussed, and a new, more analytic approach to cross-national differences in risk perception is suggested