Sociocultural factors have become a priority area in research within the framework of theories of long-term development.This article discusses the parameters of groups of countries (values of survival-self-expression and traditional-secular-rational values) according to the Inglehart-Welzel cultural map, along with other sociocultural andsocio-economic indicators. The significant cumulative advantage (gross domestic product (GDP) per capita) of threegroups of countries—Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, and Catholic—compared to the rest reflects a long history of worldprogress. A number of the social parameters of these groups probably reflect their level of development, to which otherfactors have played a role in the long term. A key question addressed in the article is whether sociocultural factorsthat have developed over long periods have a significant impact on the behaviour of countries in the context of moderncrises, and in this case, on the incidence of vaccination in countries in critical conditions. To answer this question,qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis have been conducted using the instance of the COVID-19 pandemicin 2020–21. The hypothesis was tested on an array of 80–94 countries for which there was relevant statistical data.The tables and calculations presented in the article indicate the following results: countries more advanced in thedirection of self-expression values on the Inglehart scale demonstrate higher vaccination scores and lower diseasescores, and those oriented toward secular-rational values have higher rates of suicide than countries with predominantlytraditional views.

The study was carried out as part of the HSE Program for Fundamental Research, as well as with grant support from the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs in 2022

This article was submitted on 13.09.2022