Where in World Are We? Some U.S., Soviet Citizens Not Sure

Despite years of studying the subject, the average Soviet citizen knows even less geography than the average American, according to a National Geographic Society survey released Wednesday.

Both superpowers, in fact, are outclassed in geographical knowledge by countries like Sweden and West Germany. A sizable number of Soviets and Americans cannot even spot their own countries on a map.

Only a few weeks before the December summit meeting between President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev on warships in the Mediterranean, National Geographic Society President Gilbert M. Grosvenor said the survey proves that “their constituents have an astounding ignorance of the world around them.”

There was one hopeful sign for the Soviet Union: Soviets between the ages of 18 and 24 did far better than young American adults, who ranked lowest among the 10 countries surveyed.

But the scores were a disappointment to the Soviet Union, where, according to Dr. Vladimir G. Andreyenkov, chief of methodology at the institute of sociology in the Soviet Academy of Sciences, the average pupil takes courses in geography for seven years.

“Unfortunately, the results of this education are not so exciting,” said Andreyenkov. “In principle, I am not satisfied with these results. We thought that our results should be better.”

In a special test administered for the society by the Gallup Organization, 11,500 adults in 10 countries were asked to identify 16 countries and other geographic sites, such as the Persian Gulf, on a map.

West Germans did best, correctly identifying an average of 11.6 of the 16 sites, followed by Swedes, who identified 11.2; Japanese, 9.7; French, 9.3; Canadians, 9.2; Americans, 8.6; British, 8.5; Italians, 7.6; and, in a tie for last place, Mexicans and Russians averaging 7.4 correct answers.

A survey of all these countries except the Soviet Union was conducted in the spring of 1988. In April and May of this year, the survey was expanded to cover the Soviet Union, with researchers from Andreyenkov’s institute of sociology polling 1,500 residents of Moscow and the industrial city of Kursk.

When the first results were announced in July, 1988, there was a good deal of dismay over the dismal achievement of the Americans. And even now, with the poor Soviet scores added to the survey, Americans could take little solace from the results.

The results showed that 14% of American adults could not even identify the United States on a map, 54% could not find Japan, 68% could not find Vietnam and 71% could not find West Germany.

Americans aged 14 to 18 could identify an average of only 6.9 of the 16 sites on the test--the lowest score for any country. In fact, the United States was the only country where young adults did worse on the test than adults over the age of 55--a sure sign that geographic knowledge is dwindling.

“We’re going downhill and the others are going uphill,” said Grosvenor. “I would like to see geography returned to the curriculum in this country. . . . Geography dropped out of the school system after World War II. When it was taught, it was sometimes taught by the football coach.”

Grosvenor also noted with disappointment that Americans simply do not look on geography as important. In a questionnaire that accompanied the map test, 52% of the Soviets replied that knowledge of geography is “absolutely necessary” to be considered a well-rounded individual. Only 37% of Americans replied that geography is “necessary.”

All in all, the Soviet results were surprisingly poor: 13% could not find their own nation on a map and--despite the searing cataclysm of World War II--61% could not find West Germany. The Soviets did much better than the Americans at finding neighbors like Japan and Sweden. But, in a special question for the Soviet survey alone, 62% failed to spot neighboring Afghanistan despite their country’s 10 years of military involvement there.

The Soviet scores were brought down by extremely poor results among adults over the age of 55. At the same time, the scores of adults aged 18 to 24 ranked close to the top.

Andreyenkov attributed the poor showing by older Soviet citizens to the general breakdown of the educational system before and during World War II.