These Are the Questions Americans Are Asking About Other Countries.

Traveling helps us learn about different cultures, but it’s easier to just Google things. When Americans want to know how people in other countries eat, talk, or celebrate holidays, they often search online. The maps below show the kinds of questions people in the U.S. ask about other places.

To make these maps, CashNetUSA looked at data from a tool called Ahrefs, which studies what people search for on the internet. They found that Americans are most curious about politics, industry, money, languages, holidays, and cultural differences when they search about other countries.

Many search queries revolve around how people speak, with Americans asking questions like “Why does Canada speak French?” and “Why does Spain have a lisp?” Some questions are asked about multiple countries; for instance, Americans wonder why both Finland and Ukraine want to join NATO. Other searches get really specific. You’ll find questions like “Why does Ireland have no snakes?”, “Why does Chile hate Maroon 5?”, and “Why does Sudan have more pyramids than Egypt?” on the map.

1. Africa

(click on the map to see it in full size.)

2. South America

The primary inquiry frequently posed online by Americans regarding Colombia is, “Why does Colombia observe Valentine’s Day in September?” While February 14 is universally recognized as Valentine’s Day, Colombia opts to celebrate El Día de Amor y Amistad (the Day of Love and Friendship) on the third Saturday of September annually. This shift occurred in 1969 to align with school holidays more effectively and also due to the heightened business opportunities for local flower and chocolate traders during that time.

3. North America

4. Europe

Given the plethora of cultural disparities between the United States and Europe, it’s only natural for Americans to harbor numerous inquiries about their transatlantic cousins. Among all the European nations, the United States shares a particularly unique bond with the United Kingdom. Based on our findings, the most common question Americans pose online about this island nation is, “why does the United Kingdom drive on the left?”

Although it may strike one as peculiar, the United Kingdom is among over 70 countries worldwide where driving on the left is the norm. This tradition harks back to Roman times when soldiers, wielding swords, needed to keep their right hands free. However, it wasn’t until 1835 that this practice was formally codified into British law, primarily to alleviate traffic congestion.