One of the reasons given for this is modesty, as it is easier to cover up before someone comes around an opening door. Another argument for inward-facing interior doors is safety. If your bedroom door opens onto a passageway with high traffic, you may knock someone over as they walk past.
Safety Reasons
Many believe that doors which open outwards are safer as it allows for easier escape access.
One legend posits that a large group of people once died in a single fire, and thus it was decreed that doors should open outward to allow for easier escape. Another theory suggests that at one time lodgings in Scandinavia were very small, and thus space on the interior of the property was at a premium.
The front door usually opens outward, which is opposite of in Western houses. This is because Japanese people do not wear shoes in the house, they take off and line up their shoes at the entrance. If the door opens inward, the shoes will be in the way and could cause you to be not able to open the door.
In older style doors, having the door open outwards would mean that the hinges would be on the outside. This would mean that the door could easily be unattached and opened by a burglar with the right tools. Whilst there are hinges that can be hidden in the door, it's become the norm to have them inward opening.
For safety in case of fire. It would be much easier to leave house or apartment. Previously it was an official requirement according to state building standard, but now it's just a recommendation. If someone builds a very small house (like a forest house for winter hunting), its door will often be opening inwards.
Two doors indicated that the house probably had more than one room, which was a real symbol of prosperity for the American pioneer class. This reason makes sense when you consider that many midcentury homes (and even today's houses) make a show of the number of garage doors attached to the dwelling.
Ultimately it's all a matter of preference. If you want to maximise internal floor space, get French doors that open outward. If you want French doors with better weatherproofing that maximise patio or garden space, chose to fit it so your french doors open inwards.
Doors in all commercial establishments always open outward, per both commercial building and fire codes. This insures that means of egress will not become choke points in the event of fire, natural disaster, or general panic. Why don't all front doors open inward?
If more than 25% of the windows and/or doors in a pre-Florida Building Code home are being replaced and the windows/doors are NOT impact glass, the windows/doors are required to have opening protection (such as shutters).
Landing requirements for egress exterior doors
step down to the exterior, provided the door does not swing to the outside over this dropped landing. There is no requirement for which direction an exterior door on a house must swing, but the direction will affect the allowable landing heights.
Florida has one of the most stringent building codes in the United States, as all exterior doors must open outward if you live in South Florida. Outward opening doors provide you with an added layer of protection, as an inward swinging door only has a latch and a deadbolt to prevent it from blowing into your home.
Security is enhanced. A very high percentage of home invasions and burglaries begin with the intruder simply kicking in a door. That's virtually impossible when the door swings outward. Windows may still offer a relatively easy way to access a property, but outward-opening doors will certainly deter many intruders.
Unfortunately, they also present different security risks than inward-swinging doors do. On a positive note, they're much more difficult to kick in than inward-swinging doors, but because their hinges are exposed, they have an additional point of vulnerability.
Inward opening doors are generally regarded as safer because the hinges are on the inside, so no one can tamper with them.
The knob at the door's midpoint provides more security, with a crossbar stretched across its width for even more reinforcing support. A central knob also presents a more straightforward installation for latching technology, which is beneficial for keeping doors shut.
The hinges will only be visible from the inside of the home or building. Therefore, burglars and other nefarious individuals won't be able to easily remove them. They won't be able to see the hinges, so they won't be able to pop out the pins holding the leafs together.
The International Building Code states school doors (and most public doors) should open out. Anyone can quickly exit a room by pushing through the doors. Outward-opening doors provide easy exit access without the trouble of knobs or locks. In the case of locks, classroom doors must have outside locks.
A variety of reasons are offered for the “fashion” of having two front doors, and it is not only the Amish that did that. An entrance and an exit, to make it harder for “evil spirits” to get in.
It's common for a U.S. home to have a screen door backing the 'true' front door, allowing the owner to have the door open without letting in mosquitos, flies, and other pests.
According to The Spruce, double front doors were a sign that a home had multiple rooms, which was a sign of wealth. Think about windows or garage doors on today's homes—sure, it's all about status and curb appeal. Here's why some Southern houses have a separate porch door.
Due to its association with the war in Ukraine, the Z has become a militarist symbol in Russian propaganda and is used by Russian civilians to indicate support for the invasion.
And Russians love having very warm buildings in winter (for obvious reasons). The door on the inside usually has some sort of padding or insulation to keep the heat in, while the second door just adds another layer. Plus, thanks to the threshold between the doors, an extra layer of warm air is kept between the doors.
When a mob of people rushes an exit, it's very hard for somebody to open the door inward -- everyone pushes up against the door, and there is no room for it to open. For this reason, an effective emergency exit needs to open outward, moving with the force of the mob.