Human cooperation is fundamental to solving collective challenges, yet its individual drivers remain insufficiently understood. Using globally representative data from an incentivized two-player cooperation experiment conducted in 125 countries (N = 101,123 individuals), we assess the extent of human cooperation and study its individual determinants. Across the globe, about two-thirds of people choose to cooperate. The decision to cooperate is significantly shaped by cooperation beliefs, injunctive norms, and preferences. Effect sizes of these determinants vary across countries, a variation that is systematically associated with historical and cultural markers. Globally, people underestimate others’ willingness to cooperate—humans are more cooperative than they believe. A simple information treatment reduces misperceptions and causally increases cooperation.
Science, Vol. 392, 6802,
2026
