Political Position
Eight statements on economics and social values place you on a two-axis compass. The largest quadrant, conservative right, holds about 35% of respondents worldwide; authoritarian left is smallest at 15%.
The free market, with minimal government regulation, is the best way to organise the economy.
People who work hard deserve to keep most of what they earn, regardless of wealth inequality.
Trade unions do more harm than good for the overall economy.
Lower taxes, even if they mean fewer public services, are generally better for society.
Adults should be free to make their own lifestyle choices, even if others find them immoral.
Traditional family structures and values are essential for a stable society.
Immigration generally benefits the country it flows into.
The government should have the power to restrict speech that causes social harm.
Eight statements in the style of the World Values Survey. The quadrant shares are rough, and eight questions is a sketch, not a survey.
Answer all 8 questions to see your position on the global political compass.
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About this test
Eight statements, five answers each, on two axes: economic (left to right) and social (traditional to liberal). The module scores each axis from -10 to +10 and places you on a normal curve: economic mean 0.5, social mean 1.0, SD 4.5 on both, approximated from World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017 to 2022) and Pew Global Attitudes (2023).
Eight questions is a sketch, not a survey. The percentiles tell you which side of the global middle you are on and how far out. Most people land within one SD of the centre on both axes, and the result is not broken down by country.
What is the political compass?
A two-axis map: economic left to right on one axis, social authoritarian to libertarian on the other, popularised by politicalcompass.org in 2001. This module uses the same idea with its own eight statements and a global reference distribution rather than a fixed grid.
Where does the average person sit?
Slightly right of centre economically (mean +0.5 on the -10 to +10 scale) and slightly liberal socially (mean +1.0) in the module's World Values Survey approximation. The spread is wide, SD 4.5 on each axis, so average covers a lot of ground.
Is eight questions enough?
Enough for a direction, not a diagnosis. Each axis has four items, so one strong answer moves you about 2.5 points. The World Values Survey asks hundreds of questions; this is a short cut using the same two axes.
Percentiles above come from the same parameters the Political Position module uses. See the methodology for how they are calculated.