First published December 13, 2017.
In late April 2017, as tensions over North Korea's missile tests grew, the research firm Morning Consult asked about 1,700 American adults, on behalf of The New York Times, to click on North Korea on an unlabeled map of Asia. Only 36 percent got it right, meaning roughly two in three could not find the country. The most interesting finding was not the score itself but what came with it: people who located North Korea correctly were more likely to favour diplomatic and non-military ways of dealing with it.
Here is what the survey measured, what the numbers show by group, how it compares with earlier geography tests, and what it does and does not tell us.
How the survey worked
The poll ran from 27 to 29 April 2017 and was led by Kyle Dropp of Morning Consult. Respondents saw a blank map of Asia and were asked to click where they thought North Korea was. Their answers were then compared with their views on how the United States should respond to the North Korean nuclear and missile programme.
The Times published the results on 14 May 2017, the day North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile that climbed to a very high altitude before falling into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
One small correction to earlier coverage: Statista's summary gives the sample as 1,476 adults, while Military Times, reporting on the same poll, gives 1,746. The overall result, 36 percent, is the same in all accounts.
The numbers by group
Statista's chart, based on the Morning Consult data, breaks the 36 percent down by gender, party and education. Some of the clearest patterns:
- Education: 31 percent of people without a college degree found North Korea, against 46 percent of bachelor's graduates and 53 percent of those with a postgraduate degree.
- Party: 31 percent of Democrats, 37 percent of Republicans and 39 percent of independents answered correctly.
- Gender: 45 percent of men were right. The chart labels women at 37 percent, but Statista's own text gives 27 percent, which is the figure consistent with an overall average of 36 percent.
Wrong answers spread across the continent. Respondents clicked on countries including South Korea, Japan, China's neighbours Mongolia and Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Iran and even Afghanistan.
Knowing the map and views on policy
The Times compared the map results with answers on a range of possible responses to North Korea. Most people in both groups opposed direct military action. But those who could find North Korea were more supportive of non-military options, such as tougher economic sanctions, more pressure on China to influence Pyongyang, and cyber attacks on military targets.
Those who could not find the country were noticeably more likely to back sending in ground troops, and more likely to reject the idea of the United States doing nothing at all.
It is tempting to read this as "people who know geography prefer peace," but the survey cannot show cause and effect. Education, age, news habits and political outlook all affect both map skills and policy views. What the result does suggest is that basic knowledge of where a place is tends to go with a more cautious view of using force there.
Not a new problem
Gaps in geographic knowledge among Americans have been documented for decades. The best-known example is the 2006 National Geographic–Roper Survey of Geographic Literacy, which interviewed 510 young adults aged 18 to 24. Six in ten could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East, even though US troops had been there for three years, and according to Statista three quarters could not locate Iran or Israel.
The same 2006 study found that only about half of young Americans could find New York state on a map, and only a quarter knew that Mandarin Chinese, not English, is the world's most widely spoken native language.
Why it matters, and what it doesn't prove
Being unable to point to a country on a blank map is not the same as knowing nothing about it, and many people in many countries would struggle with the same test. Surveys like this measure a single, specific skill under quiz conditions.
Still, geography is part of how citizens understand news about war, trade and diplomacy. North Korea shares borders with China, a short stretch with Russia, and South Korea across one of the most heavily fortified frontiers in the world, while Japan lies across the sea. Seeing that on a map explains why any conflict there would affect tens of millions of people in some of the world's largest cities, and why neighbours push so hard for diplomacy.
How to brush up on world geography
- Keep a map nearby when reading the news. Looking up each country mentioned builds knowledge quickly.
- Try free map quizzes. Online games that ask you to click on countries are the same task as this survey, and a few minutes a day makes a big difference.
- Learn neighbours, not just names. Knowing who borders whom explains much of world politics.
- Use a globe with children. Spinning it and finding places from stories or holidays makes geography stick early.
The point is not to mock anyone who missed the answer. It is that a minute with a map can make a big story easier to understand.
Sources: Statista chart by Niall McCarthy; Military Times, 16 May 2017; Education Week on the 2006 National Geographic–Roper survey.
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