The study introduces a new construct labeled here “arranged friendship” (AF). Based on an international sample of 7,481 people from 141 countries, an instrument for measuring AF is developed and validated, and national rankings are offered for the prevalence of AF beliefs and practices. In general, AF is empirically associated with, or predicted by, the economic development of the country, such that less economically developed countries tend to display a higher preference for AF. However, the U.S. and Canada are notable outliers: while highly economically developed, the two countries score high on AF values and practices, similar to how these two countries score on religiosity. The data also indicate that AF is on the rise in the U.S., whereas such a tendency is not observed in the rest of the world.
