Americans topped the list. Picture / Reuters
New Zealanders are the world's ninth-most patriotic people, according to a survey.
The United States, where Stars and Stripes flags are commonplace in back gardens, politicians regularly play the pariotism card and anti-terrorism legislation is even called the Patriot Act , unsurprisingly topped the poll.
It
was closely followed by Venezuela in the survey by the National Opinion Research Centre at the University of Chicago.
Australia came in fifth in the study of 34 democracies. As in the US, where anything perceived as unpatriotic is often labelled "un-American", the name of the country has come to symbolise Australia's supposedly shared values - commentators and politicians talking of "un-Australian" behaviour.
Britain, where national identity is most often associated with the soccer teams of the four home nations, was 11th in the poll. But it could move up the list if Gordon Brown, finance minister and possibly the country's next Prime Minister, has his way with the introduction of a national day.
People in the survey rated how proud they were of their countries in areas such as political influence, economic success, sports and history.
The organisers said ex-colonies and newer nations were more likely to rank high on the list.
New Zealand ranked highly for pride in sporting achievement - second, behind Ireland.
The country also ranked third for pride in the arts and literature, and fourth for pride in our armed forces.
Top 10 rankings:
1. United States
2. Venezuela
3. Ireland
4. South Africa
5. Australia
6. Canada
7. Philippines
8. Austria
9. NEW ZEALAND
10. Chile
Others:
11. Great Britain
12. Israel
18. Japan
19. France
24. Russia
27. Germany (West)
31. Korea
34. Germany (East)
- NZPA, HERALD ONLINE STAFF
