Enhancing pro-nature behavior across societies is a key sustainability challenge, with people’s connection to nature recognized as a primary driver. Understanding how this connection varies across countries and regions and the factors influencing it is, therefore, a crucial step in addressing this challenge. However, this remains poorly understood due to the scarcity of cross-country studies, particularly outside the Global North. Using data from a survey spanning 23 countries worldwide, we identified substantial variations in individuals’ psychological (cognitive) and physical (experiential) connections to nature. These differences are influenced by several country-level factors, such as socioeconomic development and the extent of cultivated land, alongside individual-level factors like education level and social status. The broad variation in connection to nature revealed by our study provides valuable insights for predicting large-scale spatial patterns of this connection and identifying regions where targeted efforts are most needed to strengthen it effectively.