# How familiar are non-US citizens with the 50 states? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967 "2010-08-03T03:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/21 "2010-08-03T06:33:41Z")
I couldn’t name any counties in Britain (aside from guessing that there are probably several with the same names as major cities), but I could name several counties in Ireland, and even place a few on the map. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/22 "2010-08-03T06:37:57Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I’d be willing to bet that more Brits know more about U.S. geography than vice-versa. Ditto, but take out “Brits” and put in “Canadians”. Also, when I was a kid, I could easily name the US Presidents in order, but I doubt most Americans could do the same with our Prime Ministers. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/23 "2010-08-03T06:53:14Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Also, when I was a kid, I could easily name the US Presidents in order, but I doubt most Americans could do the same with our Prime Ministers. But can you name the pre-Confederation premiers of the province of Canada? Even one of them? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/24 "2010-08-03T07:43:06Z")
In my experience traveling in 40+ countries, I’ve met a lot of people who know a surprising amount of US geography. A lot of people know someone who has traveled to the US, or has a relative or friend who moved there, but of course they don’t know the smaller details. For example, I’ll tell a cab driver in Moldova I’m from Washington, DC and he’ll say something like “lots of skyscrapers, huh?” and you get into this discussion about how DC is actually a pretty small city, people naturally think it is large because they’ve heard so much about it. Now, I pretty much say, “yeah, lots of skyscrapers,” but I’m an expat burnout. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/25 "2010-08-03T08:33:18Z")
I would recognise probably all the names of the States if you said them to me, but could place only a few on a map. However, I could hazard a vague location (N/S/E/W). But I have to say, if you asked most Brits the same questions _about their own country_, you’d probably get the same answer. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/26 "2010-08-03T09:22:24Z")
I reckon about 50% of British people could not even locate California on a map. I’m basing that on TV quiz shows and such like. Florida may fare better because it is has a distinctive shape and location, and is of course a major tourist destination for Brits. As for other states, most of the names would be recognised by your man on the Clapham omnibus, but I have noticed some confusion between cities and states. Some people seem to think that Omaha is a state, for example. Most people would have no clue where Ohio is, say, and as for knowing about what jokes Americans tell about other states, forget about it. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/27 "2010-08-03T09:30:32Z")
I know I can (or could at one point) name all fifty, and I could probably have a good go at a map, but I wouldn’t say I’d be 100% confident or 100% right. English counties I can pretty much do. It’s the whole Beds/Bucks/Northants area that messes me up, for some reason. But English counties aren’t important the same way; laws don’t change from one to another, for instance. A more telling analogy for Americans might be the countries of Europe; could the average American label a blank map? Early 30s, by the way, since the OP asked. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/28 "2010-08-03T09:31:02Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > > [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > > > Also, when I was a kid, I could easily name the US Presidents in order, but I doubt most Americans could do the same with our Prime Ministers. > > But can you name the pre-Confederation premiers of the province of Canada? Even one of them? To hell with “the province of Canada.” Can you name one of the premiers of pre-Confederation Nova Scotia/ New Brunswick? ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/29 "2010-08-03T09:44:58Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > For anyone who would like to test their prowess at naming the states based upon their location, you can do that here: [US States Map Quiz](http://www.sporcle.com/games/states.php) 39 first go, then just sat there staring at Colorado, completely unable to remember what it was bloody called and couldn’t move on till I had! ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/30 "2010-08-03T09:52:22Z")
Most Brits should be able to name 5-10 with not much trouble. Many states are big tourists destinations for Britons: Florida, California, New York, etc. and many more are pretty famous for other things. I also think a fair few Brits could name 40+ states and place quite a few of them on a map. [QUOTE=Chronos] ``` I couldn't name any counties in Britain (aside from guessing that there are probably several with the same names as major cities), but I could name several counties in Ireland, and even place a few on the map. ``` [/quote] Not a Beatles fan? _4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire…_. Being fair, I couldn’t name all of the counties down south or in Wales and Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/31 "2010-08-03T11:09:33Z")
22 on the test which is ridiculous given I lived there a while but it was over a decade ago and I only visited 4 states and Vancouver, BC, Canada. Now I wonder how many folks from elsewhere could name Australian states. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/32 "2010-08-03T11:14:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I couldn’t name any counties in Britain (aside from guessing that there are probably several with the same names as major cities), but I could name several counties in Ireland, and even place a few on the map. But would you recognise the names if a Brit told you? Yorkshire, Lancashire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Warwickshire, Worcestershire (yes, the sauce), Devon, Cornwall, Kent, Essex, Sussex, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, and on and on and on. Any of those sound familiar? Incidentally, the names aren’t the same as the names of the County Towns, but some are related (e.g. Cambridge is the county town of Cambridge **shire** , Oxford is in Oxfordshire, etc) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/33 "2010-08-03T11:58:25Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > For anyone who would like to test their prowess at naming the states based upon their location, you can do that here: [US States Map Quiz](http://www.sporcle.com/games/states.php) I got 48, missed Iowa and Kentucky(!). I reckon I could definitely place these on a map: The sweep down the west coast and around the southern border as far as Louisiana, Nevada, Florida, Maine, New York, New Jersey and Michigan. That’s 13 + the two non-contiguous ones. I only know a couple of state capitals. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/34 "2010-08-03T12:07:03Z")
I have to make international calls now and then and identify myself to someone in Italy or Venezuela or Japan as being from “Ohio, in the United States,” or sometimes “Cleveland, in the United States.” I don’t remember anyone ever being confused; of course that is not the same as being able to identify it on a map, but I’ve had people in faraway countries who know that it snows in Cleveland in the winter and that it is on a lake near Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/35 "2010-08-03T12:09:43Z")
I think most of the world is, at least the bigger states. Who hasn’t heard of California. What used to get my overseas friends in NZ and Aussie messed up was the suburbs. They would put things like Markxxx 123 Fake Street Elk Grove Village, Il Chicago 60018 The city versus suburbs confuses people more, 'cause in America the city limits are defined. What interesting is people with federal systems better understand the USA. My friends in Aussie get the idea of states, but my friends in NZ are like “Why so many levels? Seems like a huge waste of time and money.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/36 "2010-08-03T12:48:01Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > Now I wonder how many folks from elsewhere could name Australian states. I would certainly hope that on hearing, say, “I’m from South Australia” most people could hazard an educated guess as to the country 😉 But I would certainly not expect people to know where Victoria was. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/37 "2010-08-03T12:59:28Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Markxxx > 123 Fake Street > Elk Grove Village, Il > Chicago 60018 Well, this foreigner doesn’t get what’s wrong with this, so you’re going to have to explain. The only thing that looks odd is the ‘Il’ before the city name (presuming Il stands for Illinois?) ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/38 "2010-08-03T13:01:33Z")
When I was in England and anyone asked where I was from, I’d say “Oklahoma” to blank looks. Then I said, “It’s just north of Texas,” and you could see recognition dawn. You know, where the corn grows as tall as an elephant’s eye? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/39 "2010-08-03T13:04:57Z")
Most Pakistanis would know about the biggest states, NYS, Texas, California Florida etc, and would certainly be able to tell you it was an American state if you said say Wyoming. Some would know all, others only a gew, depends on whether they remember class 4 geography. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967/40 "2010-08-03T13:11:54Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I think most of the world is, at least the bigger states. Who hasn’t heard of California. What used to get my overseas friends in NZ and Aussie messed up was the suburbs. > > They would put things like > > Markxxx > 123 Fake Street > Elk Grove Village, Il > Chicago 60018 > > The city versus suburbs confuses people more, 'cause in America the city limits are defined. City limits are equally well-defined in Australia as they are in the U.S. However, they aren’t used for mailing addresses. For example, the Sydney Entertainment Centre is in the City of Sydney, but on [its website](http://www.sydentcent.com.au/index.cfm?s=content&p=dynamicpage&menu_id=100009) the addresses are given as: > [@](#): > > Street Address: > 35 Harbour Street, DARLING HARBOUR, NSW 2000 > > Postal Address: > PO Box K10, HAYMARKET, NSW, 1240 Darling Harbour and Haymarket are localities within the City of Sydney that are used for mailing addresses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-familiar-are-non-us-citizens-with-the-50-states/548967.md?page=3)