Granted that the practical need for USA folks to have passports is much less. I was just pointing out for @Treppenwitz’s cultural awareness that passports here aren’t the near-universal not-quite-mandatory identity document he might be used to at home.
Just like historically Californians had a hard time believing any adult American didn’t have a driver’s license, whereas plenty of lifetime NYC dwellers knew few people who did have one. It’s all too easy for any of us to assume other places are just like home until somebody points out some ways they’re not. At which point the difference is obvious and uncontroversial once pointed out. Nowadays with the USA’s teens & 20-somethings much less interested in driving in supposedly almost every city / burb, that particular cultural gap may be closing.
The percentage of US passport holders is steadily increasing. See here for a time series through 2017, now 6(!) years ago. The increase is from an astonishingly low base.
