Laurence Dollimore
MORE than half of the British public don’t know that Gibraltar is an Overseas British Territory, a new survey has revealed.
According to a study by voucher company Money Saving Heroes, some 53% of Britons are unaware that the Rock is actually part of the UK.
When respondents were asked to name all the UK territories, it was found just over half (53%) did not know Gibraltar is a part of British territory.
Meanwhile, only 21% were able to name more than three British overseas territories.
Respondents were also given a list of various countries and were asked to select all the countries that they had never heard of.
It was found from this that Liechtenstein was the most unknown country in Europe. Below is a breakdown of the top ten.
Liechtenstein – 71%
Brunei – 68%
Mozambique – 62%
Montenegro – 55%
Georgia – 48%
Trinidad and Tobago – 44%
Macedonia – 41%
Moldova – 39%
Malta – 34%
Luxembourg – 27%
Finally, all respondents were asked to pick out various countries on a map, with the following emerging as the breakdown of the top five countries people could not point out:
1. India – 86% (could not point out the location of this country)
Finland – 84%
Germany – 80%
China – 79%
Argentina – 78%
George Charles, spokesperson for www.MoneySavingHeroes.co.uk, commented:
“It has never been easier to travel the world or learn about it from the comfort of your own home thanks to technology advancements so it’s fascinating to know that so many Britons are still left scratching their heads when given a list of countries. You may not be able to afford to go travelling but everyone has the ability to learn through search engines or books.”
The team behind www.MoneySavingHeroes.co.uk conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into how much Britons know about the world.
Over 2,200 British adults took part in the quiz.
All respondents remained anonymous throughout the study.
