US youth don't know where Afghanistan is
The National Geographic study also found in the US, 83% of young adults could not find Afghanistan on a blank map of the world.
And fewer than two in three Americans could find China on a map of the Middle East/Asia. More than half 56% were unable to locate India, home to 17% of people on Earth. And 42% were unable to locate Britain,
The survey was conducted among more than 3,000 18-24 year-olds in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the United States.
Young Swedes scored top, followed by Germany and Italy, with Britons, Americans, Canadians and Mexicans filling the last four places.
The survey further found that less than 25% of French, Canadian, Italian, British and American young adults could name four countries that officially acknowledged having nuclear weapons.
Except for the Swedes, only 40% or fewer young adults in all the countries surveyed could name China and India as the two countries with populations over 1 billion.
John Fahey, president of the National Geographic Society, said: "The results are disappointing, but they highlight the urgency of the problem of geographic ignorance and the need to broaden our efforts beyond the classroom.
"If young people can't find places on a map and lack awareness of current events, how can they understand the world's cultural, economic and natural resource issues?"
The study was conducted in June and July 2002.
