Jan 8, 2020 - World

Only 23% of American voters can identify Iran on world map

Rashaan Ayesh

Satellite image of the Middle East — Photo: Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Only 23% of registered American voters were able to correctly identify Iran on an unlabeled world map, according to a poll from Morning Consult and Politico.

Why it matters: Voters' inability to pick out Iran on the map highlights their relative unfamiliarity with foreign countries — even after decades of conflicts and tensions with the U.S. in the region.

Things didn't get much better on a smaller scale as just 28% of voters were able to place Iran on an unlabeled map of the Middle East.
8% of voters thought Iraq was Iran on the regional map.

The state of play: On Morning Consult's global map, voters' responses were spread across the globe. While the Middle East saw definite clustering, some respondents believed — among dozens of wild responses — that Iran was located in:

The U.S.
Canada
Spain
Russia
Brazil
Australia
The middle of the Atlantic Ocean

The big picture: The death of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike has refreshed focus and attention on the region as tensions between the two countries remain high.

47% of voters surveyed supported Trump's decision to strike Soleimani, compared to 40% who did not — a result that broke largely along party lines.
Morning Consult noted that there were no statistical differences in support for the strike among those who could or could not identify Iran on a map.

Go deeper: Signs of respite with Iran despite Trump's red line

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Only 23% of American voters can identify Iran on world map

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