This is an excellent website if you are looking for information about cultures around the world. The website is based out of Australia and is intended to help Australians learn more about people who have immigrated to Australia.. It doesn’t include every culture in the world but it does include many.

I usually recommend people look up a few cultures they know something about as well as some they have not any experience with before. I also recommend people look up their own culture. One of the reasons people have a low level of intercultural competence is actually because of their limited cultural self-awareness. It can useful to read about your own culture as it is being explained to outsiders. You will realize that some things that just seem ‘natural’ and ‘the way the world is’ are actually just part of your own culture and are rather odd to the rest of the world. Once you realize how much of your own behaviors and values are shaped by your culture, you will be more likely to consider that how others are shaped by their cultures. You will ask better questions and be more observant.

Spend a little time on Cultural Atlas now and then. It’s worth it!