Correct answer

74% of the world’s population lives in middle-income countries. And despite what many people think, far more people live in high-income countries (17%) than in low-income countries (10%).

That means there are more people with access to good education, safe housing, and nutritious food than there are living in extreme poverty.

Data source: World Bank

The ignorance we found

On average, 26% of respondents chose the right answer to this question, and only two countries scored better than the chimps (33%)!

A massive 72% of respondents thought most people live in low-income countries where  just 10% of the world population live.  So while 26% overall might not seem all that bad, in reality, it shows that almost ¾ of our respondents have a huge misconception about the world they live in.

Why do people pick the wrong answer?

There’s a general misconception that the world is divided into the “haves” and the “have nots”. But this just isn’t true! If you assume the world is divided into “rich” and “poor”, you end up overlooking around three-quarters of the world’s population.

The reality of today is that most people have their basic needs met. They have enough to eat, clean drinking water, at least basic medical care, and access to electricity and transportation. However, because this silent majority don’t show up in our news or social media feeds, it’s easy to become overly focused on the extremes.