Perils of Perception

A FOURTEEN COUNTRY STUDY

Teenage pregnancy

Germans think that 14%

of teenage girls give birth each year.
It’s actually only
0.4% Sweden are the most accurate
with an average guess of 7%
(the actual figure is 0.7%)

Across all countries

average 15%
actual 1.2%

Illustrations designed and created by Signal Noise

Muslims

Australians think that 18%

of their population are Muslim,
when it's only
2%

Across all countries

average 16%
actual 2.9%

Christians

Americans think 56% of their

population are Christian,
when the actual figure is
78%
Canadians also underestimate
the proportion of Christians
(49% when the actual is 69%)

Across all countries

average 51%
actual 61.2%

Immigration

In Belgium the public think 29%

of the population are immigrants.
It’s actually
10%

Across all countries

average 24%
actual 10.8%

Ageing population

Italians think nearly

half their population (48%)
are 65+, when it’s only
21%

Across all countries

average 39%
actual 17.8%

Voters

Every country underestimates how many

people vote.
The French are particularly pessimistic -
they think only 57% voted in the
presidential election, when 80% did

Across all countries

average 58%
actual 71.7%

Unemployment

People greatly overestimate

unemployment levels.
Even the Japanese, who do well on most
questions, think 19% are unemployed
when the actual figure is 4%

Across all countries

average 30.4%
actual 8.7%

Life expectancy

South Koreans
are too optimistic about
their life expectancy
- they think they'll live to 89,
when the average will be
80

Hungarians are too pessimistic, Across all countries

only expecting to live to 68,

when the average is predicted average 80

to be 75 actual 80.5

Murder rates

The murder rate is falling in all 14 countries but

the majority in many countries think it's rising.
The British are most likely to be right 49%
think it’s falling and only 25% think it’s rising

Across all countries (murder rate is rising)

true 49%
false 27%

Across all countries

Index of
Ignorance
RANKED BY LEAST ACCURATE

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th

Italy US South Poland Hungary France Canada Belgium Australia Great Spain Japan Germany Sweden
Korea Britain

LEAST ACCURATE MOST ACCURATE