# Where in the world are we? Americans don't know. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 22, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215 "2002-11-22T19:48:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/1 "2002-11-22T19:48:57Z")
It was reported a couple of days ago that, as usual, Americans ranked near the bottom (outranking only Mexico, and barely at that) on a multi-nation geography survey conducted by Roper for the (U.S.) National Geographic Society. Judging by the [20-question sample](http://geosurvey.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/), the test wasn’t that hard. The questions that asked people to find a country on a world map gave only four possible choices, and usually only two of them were on the right continent. I just took the sample test of 20 questions, and I am beyond appalled: **Fewer Americans than Mexicans or Canadians could find the United States on a map**. Only the Brits did significantly worse than we did. **Only 25% of Americans knew that the U.S. population was between 150 and 350 million.** We came in _last_ for that question - after the Italians, 34% of whom answered correctly. And considering that there were only four choices… And then there’s our war: **17% of Americans could find Afghanistan**. We outranked…Mexico. WTC or no WTC, **Americans were least likely to identify Afghanistan as the home of Al Quaeda and the Taliban**. Mein gott. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/2 "2002-11-22T20:21:13Z")
I found it particularly depressing that Japan, Mexico, and Sweden all had about 98% who could find their own country, and the US has only 89%. sigh… ---
**Author:** ![Melandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Melandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melandry)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/3 "2002-11-22T20:28:39Z")
Only 44% of Americans knew (or guessed) that the **Euro** pean Union was the organization behind the **Euro**?! Dear God, shoot me now. ---
**Author:** ![Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/2bfe46/32.png) [@Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xavier)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/4 "2002-11-22T20:33:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Only 44% of Americans knew (or guessed) that the European Union was the organization behind the Euro?! Dear God, shoot me now. Why, did you get it wrong too? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/5 "2002-11-22T20:34:32Z")
Depressing, ain’t it? The only question on the quiz I answered incorrectly to was the “what’s the world’s largest religion?”(as in ‘number of followers’). I _still_ have a slight doubt that the answer given was right (I’m stubborn like that, heh), but hey. I do find it ironic that the question that, judging from the graphs of correct answers, was “easiest” for all nations is the one that I got wrong! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/6 "2002-11-22T20:35:11Z")
Wow thats truly pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/7 "2002-11-22T20:45:26Z")
I, too, answered the world’s largest religion question incorrectly. That and the population of _my own country_. I did know it was’t in the 1 to 2 billion range, though. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/8 "2002-11-22T20:48:05Z")
I heard this on NPR driving home yesterday. I believe they also said that every state west of the Mississippi was designated at least once as being New York. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/9 "2002-11-22T21:07:44Z")
Got all but the religion one, myself. Damn, those are some scary results, although I take a _little_ comfort from the fact that 21% of the British can’t find the US on a map either. Thought the “westernmost city” one was particularly telling – are there really that many people who don’t know how to _read_ a map? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/10 "2002-11-22T21:09:10Z")
Hah, I got 'em all correct, though in one case, it was by elimination. For question 16, I knew what region Sweden was in, but wasn’t sure about its exact placement. Of the available answers, only #43 was in the right region, so I went with that. Had #24 been offered, I would have guessed it instead and gotten it wrong (on reflection, I think #24 is Denmark but I’d have to check). ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/11 "2002-11-22T21:17:06Z")
I was please to have gotten 19 out of 20 correct myself. Also missed the world’s largest religion question… because I have heard (obviously) unsubstantiated claims that Christianity is a minority on this planet. I think what people mean by that is: adding all other religions together, Christianity has fewer followers than all others combined. But, taken one at a time, Christianity has the most followers? I demand a cite! ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/12 "2002-11-22T21:27:06Z")
Isn’t this interesting - I too only missed the religion question. I’d thought I’d heard that Islam had overtaken Christianity, but I guess not. And, Dogzilla, I’m pretty certain Christianity is a “minority” despite being the largest - it’s less than 50% of the world’s population. Aha, and here’s a cite: [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904108.html](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904108.html), which reports that Christianity is the top but still only 33% of the world’s population. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/13 "2002-11-22T21:29:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Melandry \* > \*\*Only 44% of Americans knew (or guessed) that the **Euro** pean Union was the organization behind the **Euro**?! Dear God, shoot me now. \*\* Yes, but on the other hand, IIRC, 15% or so of the french and italian people who use it every day didn’t know, either… ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/14 "2002-11-22T21:33:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\* > > Thought the “westernmost city” one was particularly telling – are there really that many people who don’t know how to _read_ a map? \*\* I’m not that surprised by this result. I’d bet a lot of people picked the city closest to the sea. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/15 "2002-11-22T21:35:48Z")
I think part of the problem is this: Islam is almost always treated as one religion, while Christianity is not. That is, demographers don’t treat Catholics, Lutherans, Prebyterians, et al as part of one religion. But they DO treat Sunnis and Shiites (among other Islamic sects) as if their divisions were inconsequential. Using that logic, Islam DOES have more adherents than even the largest Christian sect (Roman Catholicism). But as a group, Christians of all sects still outnumber Moslems of all sects. (How long that will remain true, I have no idea.) ---
**Author:** ![Treviathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@Treviathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treviathan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/16 "2002-11-22T21:35:58Z")
I wonder how many people guessed that the Pacific Ocean was #60 on the map, especially considering there _was_ no #60. And yes, chalk me up as another who got the religion question wrong. Everyone’s actually a closet Buddhist - that’s my rationalization, and I’m sticking to it. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/17 "2002-11-22T21:37:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogzilla \* > \*\*I was please to have gotten 19 out of 20 correct myself. Also missed the world’s largest religion question… because I have heard (obviously) unsubstantiated claims that Christianity is a minority on this planet. \*\* Nope. Christianity is a minority _and_ the largest religion. In other words, there are less christians than non-christians on the planet, but there are more people belonging to christiannity than to any other specific religion. ---
**Author:** ![Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/2bfe46/32.png) [@Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xavier)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/18 "2002-11-22T21:38:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Everyone’s actually a closet Buddhist - that’s my rationalization, and I’m sticking to it. Man, what are you trying to do… expose _us all_? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/19 "2002-11-22T21:41:28Z")
I think the religion one was rigged. If you look at it honestly (i.e., _not_ accepting the crap the PRC feeds us about its `atheist’ population), Buddhism would certainly be the world’s most common religion. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215/20 "2002-11-22T21:49:31Z")
I got 20/20. I must not be an American! :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-in-the-world-are-we-americans-dont-know/138215.md?page=2)