US: Six out of 10 young Americans cannot find Iraq on a map and three out of four cannot identify Iran or Israel, according to a survey of 18- to 24- year-olds by National Geographic magazine, writes Denis Staunton.
Nine out of 10 respondents could not identify Afghanistan and more than half thought that Sudan was in Asia.
"Young Americans just don't seem to have much interest in the world outside of the US," said geography education specialist David Rutherford.
Knowledge of US geography was not much better, with half the respondents unable to identify New York state on a map of the US and one in three unable to find Louisiana.
If young Americans are ignorant about their country's place in the world, they appear to be happy that way. Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news and just 14 per cent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.