# National Geographic survey - how do you rate with the rest of the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 27, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914 "2004-11-27T20:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/41 "2004-11-28T05:45:46Z")
20/20 Did anyone else start off the survey with a cautious approach as if there were trick questions? ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/42 "2004-11-28T05:49:31Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > Christianity is not as fractured as much as you may think. The largest Christian denomination is Catholicism, which is half of all Christians, about 1 million of them. (This beats out all Hindus.). Could you say that impersonating Dr. Evil, please? šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/43 "2004-11-28T05:52:16Z")
More people know that India and Pakistan have a long standing conflict over the region of Kashmir than can find Sweden on a map?!?!? That blows my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/44 "2004-11-28T06:15:02Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Iā€™m crap at Geography, I got a bunch of those wrong, and I really donā€™t care that much. I think there are something like 200 countries in the world, and knowing enough about all of them is, in my experience, unnecessary. Certainly you know some very basic facts, though. For instance, you probably know which continent most major countries are located on, right? For instance, when asked to locate Israel, you must certainly be aware that Israel is in the Middle East. Two of the choices were at the south tip of Africa and South America, respectively. Clearly, they arenā€™t Israel. The two choices youā€™re left with are both in the Middle East, but even of you _donā€™t_ recognize one of those countries as Saudi Arabia, it should be fairly common knowledge that Israel is a pretty small country, which makes it easy to pick it out from the two remaining choices. Most of the geography questions can be answered with just the most basic of geographical knowledge and the process of elimination. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/45 "2004-11-28T06:47:56Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Well, in my entire school careerā€“public Kindergarten through BS, I donā€™t recall ever taking a geography course, and only take one history class that wasnā€™t US-centric. So? Do people not learn outside of school anymore? If the only education I ever got was from whatever I learned physically sitting in school K-12, Iā€™d be a complete dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/46 "2004-11-28T07:56:31Z")
20/20. How the hell can someone get those geography questions wrong, the way they were set up? I mean, you just ask me to point to Israel or Sweden on a map and Iā€™d have to think about it a bit, but these were so obvious! Thereā€™d be one number in the general area and then the other 3 off on some other continent! I think the one for Isreal listed choices in South America, Africa, and a number that wasnā€™t even on the map! And I cannot believe #11. Only 89% of **Americans** can find the **United States** on a map!!? I think this calls for a :dubious: :rolleyes: :wally. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/47 "2004-11-28T08:03:57Z")
20/20 I had no problem with Afghanistan. I looked it up on the CIA website right after 9/11. I almost missed Argentina, for some reason, Iā€™ve always mixed it up with Chile. I actually thought I was choosing it wrong, but I got it rightā€¦ how mixed up is that! ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/48 "2004-11-28T08:05:35Z")
In case anyone doesnā€™t have and wants the [CIA factbook site](http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/49 "2004-11-28T08:06:43Z")
> [@Joe Random](#): > > Most of the geography questions can be answered with just the most basic of geographical knowledge and the process of elimination. In the survey, yes. In Trivial Pursuit or day to day living, not so easy. I got Afghanistan wrong (I thought it was much further west than that) but got Israel right (Iā€™m pretty good with the biblical countries). I got Sweden wrong (thinking that only Finland and Norway were in that part of Scandinavia) and a couple of others I just guessed but got right. The concentration of countries in Europe and the Middle East and Eastern Europe often confuse me. I wouldnā€™t know Turkey from the Czech Republic, or for that matter Paraguay from Nicaragua. Or the Ivory Coast from Cameroon. Iā€™m easily confused by a lot of places. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/50 "2004-11-28T09:58:08Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > Me, too. Iā€™m skeptical of the answer, as well. > [@The Gaspode](#): > > Why? I can see some Christian hackles raising because some people donā€™t think itā€™s the biggest religion in the worldā€¦ My reasoning was that there are a whole lot of people in China and maybe their government doesnā€™t report numbers on religion adequately, being Communist and all. ---
**Author:** ![mallocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mallocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mallocks)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/51 "2004-11-28T10:23:42Z")
Iā€™m ashamed at how badly Great Britain did in locating the various countries, some really poor scores cropping up there, especially bad when you consider how easy most of them were to get just by knowing the general area, and there being no other similar numbers nearby. All in all, a :smack: for my runaway self-esteem on British general knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/52 "2004-11-28T10:37:35Z")
20/20 Iā€™m shocked at how many dopers got Sweden wrong. Iā€™ve been there and I have very good friends in neighboring countries so I got it without looking at the other choices, but Iā€™ve inferred from this thread that the other choices _werenā€™t Norway or Finland_ :smack:. I can understand some of the countries in the survey needing to worry about oh, you know, basic infrastructure and running water before needing to care which world religion has the most adherents, but Iā€™m embarassed of Americaā€™s answers. We have no excuse. ---
**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/53 "2004-11-28T13:05:54Z")
20 out of 20 here. I had to guess which was Sweden, but I knew it was one of three that make the floppy dick on the Euro. šŸ™‚ One thing I noticed that if a question affected a nation, that nation had more people who knew the answer. My main beef was why Italy was number 1? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/54 "2004-11-28T13:53:31Z")
19/20 (the el-nino question was badly worded). 42% of Americans didnā€™t know that Al-Qeda and the Taliban werenā€™t Afghanistan based?? šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/55 "2004-11-28T14:09:00Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You may be underestimating the number of Christians. I know thereā€™s a lot of Buddhists, but Christianity boasts over two billion adherents. It might be the case that some Dopers think this community is a microcosm of the world at large, hence the surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/56 "2004-11-28T14:50:57Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > It might be the case that some Dopers think this community is a microcosm of the world at large, hence the surprise. That makes no sense at all. Itā€™s not as if there are more Muslims than Christians here. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/57 "2004-11-28T14:55:06Z")
Nor do any but the most naive (read: ignorant) atheists believe we outnumber Christians, which seems to be your implication. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/58 "2004-11-28T15:27:10Z")
> [@drm](#): > > More people know that India and Pakistan have a long standing conflict over the region of Kashmir than can find Sweden on a map?!?!? That blows my mind. Maybe there are a lotta Led Zeppelin fans taking the survey. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/59 "2004-11-28T15:42:04Z")
> [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > 42% of Americans didnā€™t know that Al-Qeda and the Taliban werenā€™t Afghanistan based?? šŸ˜• A double negative. On purpose? I find both fairly claims fairly suspect. When exactly are we talking about? Taliban has strong roots in Pakistan. After being rooted from Afghanistan the Taliban is arguably a stronger movement in Pakistan than in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda is, as far as it can be said to exist at all, a highly decentralized organization. At some point it used Afghanistan. But base? Its ideological wellspring is more Saudi Arabia. None of the 9/11 terrorists, or any of the terrorists involved in the embassy & Cole bombings that preceded it, were Afghans. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914/60 "2004-11-28T15:51:00Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > There are definitely more Christians than Muslims. > > Check out [this site.](http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html) China is the joker. They donā€™t seem to be represented in that pie-chart at all. What religion is the majority of those billion+ Chinese classified under? Buddhist or Atheist? Incidentally, hereā€™s Kevin Kelly from Wired with a prediction: _ā€œChina will be considered a Christian nation, with at least 33% of its residents identifying themselves as Christians, by the year 2085.ā€_ : [http://www.longbets.org/119](http://www.longbets.org/119) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-geographic-survey-how-do-you-rate-with-the-rest-of-the-world/276914.md?page=4)