Test Your Global IQ

A. Complete the test below on your own. Do NOT look up the answers.
B. Get in your groups (your score will be a group score)
C. Only after you’ve answered all the questions as a group and reported your score, can you look
up the correct answers individually. Then report your individual score
D. How well did your group do? Did it do better than your individual score?
E. After hearing how other groups in your class did, how would you rate your group in terms of
global IQ?

How aware are you of the rest of the planet? If you will be working internationally, the better you know
about the world, the more successful you are likely to be.

1. Which six countries make up more than half of the world’s population?
1. 4.
2. 5.
3. 6.

2. Which six most commonly spoken first languages account for one-third of the total world
population?
1. 4.
2. 5.
3. 6.

3. How many living languages are there in the world (that is, languages that are still spoken)?
a. 683
b. 2,600
c. 6,800

4. How many sovereign nations were there in 2005?

a. 303
b. 203
c. 103

5. The proportion of people in the world ago 60 and older will increase _____percent by 2050.

6. The number of people who have immigrated from poorer countries to developed ones has been
___________million per year in recent years.

7. Between 1970 and 2000, the number of people in the world suffering from malnutrition

a. Declined
b. Remained about the same
c. Increased

8. In 2007, the world spent approximately $14.1 trillion on health care. How much did the world
spend on armies and military weapons and systems?
a. $100 billion
 b. $1.2 trillion
c. $17 trillion

9. What percentage of the world’s expenditures on the military was spent by the United States?
10. The United States spends the most per person on health care than any other nation, about
$6,000. Where does the United States rank in terms of life expectancy?
11. According to the United Nations (UN), France has the best health-care system in the world,
costing $3,900 per person. What did the UN rank the United States in terms of total health care
system?
a. 27th b. 37th
12. According to the United Nations, what percentage of the world’s work (paid and unpaid) is done
by women
a. 1/3
b. ½
c. 2/3
d. ¾
13. Women make up __________percent of the world’s illiterates.
14. In some African countries, ___________percent of women have suffered female genital
mutilation
15. According to the United Nations, what percentage of the world’s income is earned by women?
a. 1/10
b. 3/10
c. 5/10
d. 7/10
16. The nations of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East—often referred to as the “third
world” contain about 78% of the world’s population. What percentage of the world’s monetary
income do they possess?
a. 10
b. 20
c. 30
d. 40
17. Americans constitute approximately 5 percent of the world’s population. What percentage of
the world’s resources do Americans consume?
18. Which city has the worst air pollution__New York, Mexico City, or Moscow?
19. The total output of the world economy was $6.3 trillion in 1950. What was it in 2008?
20. The number of host computers on the Internet grew by ____percent from 1990 to 2008?
21. In 2007, 33 million people worldwide were infected with HIV or had AIDS. Which three
countries have the highest rage of HIV infection? Which two countries had the greatest
decrease of cases?
22. The world’s urban population will grow from 2.86 billion to ________billion in 2030
23. The average amount of water used per day by a person living in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti,
Gambia, Somalia, Mali, Mozambique, Tanzania, or Uganda is the same as someone in a
developed country
a. Making a pot of tea (1 liter)
b. Cleaning his or her teeth with the tap water running (10 lites)
c. Filling up a dishwasher (65 liters)
d. Taking a bath (200 liters
24. Sixty-five million girls do not go to school. What’s the main reason behind their exclusion from
education?
a. Girls are less intelligent than boys
b. In many countries it’s illegal for girls to go to school
c. Poverty takes a greater toll on girls
d. Girls drop out earlier to get married and have babies
25. Which country gives least aid as a proportion of gross domestic production?
a. The United States
b. Saudi Arabia
c. Japan
d. Switzerland
26. Imagine the world’s population is represented by 100 people. Fill in the blanks below to indicate
what percentage of people would be the following?
a. ______would be Asian
b. ______would be nonwhite
c. ______would be non-Christian
d. ______would live in substandard housing
e. ______would be illiterate
f. ______would have a college education
g. ______would own a computer
27. True of false: In the developed world, the population is aging, meaning there are fewer young
people for each retiring adult. In developing countries, on the other hand, there are relatively
more young people_______
28. Russia controls what percentage of the world’s energy supply?
a. 15
b. 25
c. 40
29. Which country is the United States’ biggest trading partner?
a. Canada
b. China
c. Mexico
30. In Asia, how many city dwellers will be added by 2030?
a. 600 million
b. 850 million
c. 1 billion
31. Which city will have the greatest population in 20 years?
a. Los Angeles
b. Mumbai
c. Tokyo
32. Each year, how much money do Mexican immigrants send back to Mexico to family members?
a. $900 million
b. $9 billion
c. $20 billion