Could Do Better

From a report on a quiz organised by the National Geographic we hear that:

"Out of 56 questions that were asked across all countries surveyed, on average young Americans answered 23 questions correctly. Others outside the U.S., most notably young adults in Mexico, also struggled with basic geography facts."

Before we get too cocky:

"Young people in Canada and Great Britain fared almost as poorly as those in the U.S".

"Among young Americans’ startling knowledge gaps, the study found that

• nearly 30 percent of those surveyed could not find the Pacific Ocean, the world’s largest body of water;

• more than half—56 percent—were unable to locate India, home to 17 percent of people on Earth; and

• only 19 percent could name four countries that officially acknowledge having nuclear weapons.

Several perhaps interrelated factors affected performance—educational experience (including taking a geography course), international travel and language skills, a varied diet of news sources, and Internet use. Americans who reported that they accessed the Internet within the last 30 days scored 65 percent higher than those who did not."

A sample quiz can be found here . It is pretty straightforward.

Via Daryl