In today’s world, we have access to all kinds of information. There are books, newspapers, TV, radio, magazines, and of course… Google. The amount of information that we carry in our smartphones today is way more than any of the previous generations could collectively gather and store.
This means, we should know the world really well. Do we, though? The challenge that almost all of us face is that our conscious mind does not carry this information at all times, only the impressions of the world. These impressions are created over a period of time, based on what we read or hear, who we talk to, etc. Are these impressions close to reality? If yes, how close? Hans Rosling discusses these points in his book Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — And Why Things Are Better Than You Think.
The author gives a list of 13 questions and asks us to answer them based on our understanding of the world. Below are the questions. Try them and see for yourself whether your impression of the world is based on facts or some misconstrued narrative.
1. In all low-income countries across the world today, how many girls finish primary school?
- A. 20 percent
- B. 40 percent
- C. 60 percent
2. Where does the majority of the world population live?
- A. Low-income countries
- B. Middle-income countries
- C. High-income countries
3. In the last 20 years, the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has ________.
- A. almost doubled
- B. remained more or less the same
- C. almost halved
4. What is the life expectancy of the world today?
- A. 50 years
- B. 60 years
- C. 70 years
5. There are 2 billion children in the world today, aged 0 to 15 years old. How many children will be there in the year 2100, according to the United Nations?
- A. 4 billion
- B. 3 billion
- C. 2 billion
6. The UN predicts that by 2100 the world population will have increased by another 4 billion people. What is the main reason?
- A. There will be more children (age below 15)
- B. There will be more adults (age 15 to 74)
- C. There will be more very old people (age 75 and older)
7. How did the number of deaths per year from natural disasters change over the last hundred years?
- A. More than doubled
- B. Remained about the same
- C. Decreased to less than half
8. There are roughly 7 billion people in the world today. Which arrangement shows best where they live?
- A. 3 in Asia, 2 in America, 1 each in Europe and Africa
- B. 3 in Asia, 2 in Africa, 1 each in Europe and America
- C. 4 in Asia, 1 each in Europe, Africa and America
9. How many of the world’s 1-year-old children today have been vaccinated against some disease?
- A. 20 percent
- B. 50 percent
- C. 80 percent
10. Worldwide, 30-year-old men have spent 10 years in school, on average. How many years have women of the same age spent in school?
- A. 3 years
- B. 6 years
- C. 9 years
11. In 1996, tigers, giant pandas, and black rhinos were all listed as endangered. How many of these three species are more critically endangered today?
- A. Three of them
- B. One of them
- C. None of them
12. How many people in the world have some access to electricity?
- A. 20 percent
- B. 50 percent
- C. 80 percent
13. Global climate experts believe that, over the next 100 years, the average temperature will ________.
- A. get colder
- B. remain the same
- C. get warmer
Answer key: Option C for every question.
Kalampedia 