Culture is an integral component of any society, influencing many socio-economic indicators, such as the rate of development and the level of wealth (1). Each country (or rather a region) has its own unique set of values, which is made up of special geographical, historical, and sometimes completely random factors and creates a certain culture in society. Our hypothesis was that not only countries, but also regions within the country may differ in cultural qualities, and for a more accurate understanding of the picture, we analyzed cultural values at the regional level.

Geert Hofstede, a Dutch sociologist, investigated how culture differs from country to country and proposed a set of indicators that determine the cultural characteristics of different peoples. For a more detailed description, see our article "On the" rules of the game "in society. Part 2 "(https://crcons.com/rus/b20190717). According to Hofstede, individualistic societies are characterized by a focus on human rights (rather than responsibilities), caring for oneself and the immediate family, an emphasis on personal autonomy and self-realization, and an identity based on personal achievement. In collectivism, belonging to a group is a central aspect of identity and those personal qualities that reflect the goals of society are valued, for example, self-sacrifice for the common good (4).

Based on the literature review, a methodology for calculating the level of individualism was derived. The index values are distributed on a scale from 0 to 1, where 1 is the region with the highest level of individualism. Calculations are based on data from the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey (79 countries around the world on 155 questions about cultural values).

At the country level, the leaders in the Individualism Index are New Zealand and Iceland (0.84), Sweden (0.83), the Netherlands (0.82), Australia (0.79) and the United States (0.76). There is a pattern where the countries of Western Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia are more individualistic, while the countries of East Asia, Arab countries and Africa are more collectivist. It is worth noting that the former socialist countries of Europe have a moderate to low individualism index: 0.63 (Slovenia) - 0.44 (Bulgaria).

Kazakhstan is in 53rd place with a level of individualism of 0.5 points.

In the regional context of the world, an equally interesting picture is observed - most regions within one country have a homogeneous index of individualism. This is also true for large countries like the USA (with some exceptions), Australia, China.

The regions of Kazakhstan vary significantly, with an index ranging from 0.31 in the West Kazakhstan region to 0.81 in the North Kazakhstan region. The reason may be both an insufficient sample and a real difference in cultural values in the regions.

As a result, Kazakhstan is a moderately collectivist country. This factor should be taken into account when choosing relevant policies from international experience. There are also significant differences between the regions of the country that need to be studied in more detail through large-scale regional studies.

References
1.    Alesina, Alberto, and Paola Giuliano. "Culture and institutions." Journal of Economic Literature 53.4 (2015): 898-944.
2.    EVS/WVS (2020). European Values Study and World Values Survey: Joint EVS/WVS 2017-2021 Dataset (Joint EVS/WVS). GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA7505. Dataset Version 1.0.0, doi:10.4232/1.13095.
3.    Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.
4.    Oyserman, Daphna, Markus Kemmelmeier, and Heather M. Coon. "Cultural psychology, a new look: Reply to Bond (2002), Fiske (2002), Kitayama (2002), and Miller (2002)." (2002): 110.