One of the reasons America is sometimes described as being an insular country is the low ownership or passports, and thus the low rate of international travel. Which in some ways is fair enough; in comparison to Europeans, for example, popping over to another country is often a bigger deal than jumping on a train.

But Ted read that only 7 per cent of Americans own passports and wondered where the figure comes from. It seems the statistic varies, for example:.

First, lets be generous and say that every passport was issued to an adult and therefore lasts ten years. Given the US population is around millionthat gives us Is there any reason this calculation would be way out?

Incidentally, I graphed the statistics for US passports issued per year [updated 24 April ]. You can see the dramatic rise over the past ten years. This may account for some of the lower figures people give; they could simply be out of date. Using the same method for the yearsfor example, we get less than 15 per cent ownership, without taking into account five year passports. If the rate of issue stabilised at around 7 million per year, never mind further growth, then by around a quarter of US citizens will own a passport assuming the same total population.

The percentages of passport holders among those who travel between the two countries might help to make better comparisons with Europeans travelling between countries. From a report PDF from the United States Government Accountability Office:. According to State data, about 28 percent of the U. Richard Hyett 31 Jan Permalink. My first few hours in America I got a bus from JFK to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York. I sat behind the driver who was trying to impress his girl friend with his knowlege of downtown Manahatten.

The equivalent of the costa brava for most Americans is either Florida or Hawaii, depending on where they live. The cheap package holiday which we take for granted has no equivalent in the states and most Americans enjoy a miserable holiday allowance until they retire.

They do have trouble understanding people without cars. Phil 31 Jan Permalink. Danny O'Brien 31 Jan Permalink. I wonder if there are any statistics on the number of Americans travelling abroad each year?

Laura Brown 1 Feb Permalink. In fact, I thought maybe I would put an essay on the Web about it. I would add that — despite what people flaunting this statistic seem to assume — the mere act of travelling to another country does not necessarily make one any less ignorant, provincial, etc. While the British do travel abroad quite often, many of them just want to go clubbing, stock up on cheap booze or stay in beach resorts populated entirely by other British tourists.

By contrast, an American who has planned and saved his whole life for a trip to Spain is probably intending to SEE Spain, not to kill as many brain cells as possible in Ibiza. Americans can indeed spend a lifetime travelling around their country — but I think the British could as well, if they wanted to.

Britain packs a startling amount of cultural and linguistic diversity into a small space, but it seems that its citizens are not taught to take pride in this or to explore it.

Londoners, in particular, often seem to know nothing about British culture beyond Hertfordshire or Kent. Seriously, having lived in both countries, I find that the ratio of smart people to stupid people, sophisticated people to unsophisticated people, etc. I suspect this would hold true in just about any country. Not very interesting, but there you are. One other reason for the increase would be the upswing in the economy after the beginning of the Clinton years. I find the very low figure hard to believe—I know maybe only one or two people who have never left America.

Or maybe I surround myself with travelers…. Phil, using his A-Level maths to full effect is pretty close. I just now found this statistic: Travel Industry World Yearbook The top cities for passport ownership are: US Office of Central Statistics.

Phil 3 Feb Permalink. Excellent, well done on finding the statistic Ted! Paul 6 Feb Permalink. I think as an English citizen it is unfair to sneer at Americans for not owning a passort because there are many valid reasons for not needing one including cost of holidays, finding time for holidays, living in a large and varied country to begin with and living in a country that is made up of people from other countries.

As a Brit, I have only been able to go abroad twice in my lifetime, mainly due to the cost of holidays and my always finding something better to do with my money when it comes to the crunch. Richard Hyett 10 Feb Permalink. The average American urban dweller spends more of his life than ever before stuck in traffic, or working to pay for his car.

I guess they are all to busy in traffic, working to pay for their car, dealing with adverts and watching tv. Phil 11 Feb Permalink. Of course, if you had statistics to show that UK residents view dramatically less adverts and TV and spend far less time in transit it might make your point more convincing! Laura Brown 13 Feb Permalink. Glen Kendall 15 Mar Permalink. I write a weekly newsletter. I found your site when I was trying to find out how many Americans have passports. Thanks for the calculation.

Manda 26 Mar Permalink. Michael McMahon 2 Apr Permalink. There are some interesting statistics and points made, but frankly I find the whole question absurd and the fact one hears it asked so often is evidence of the petty Anti-Americanism that is so fashionable these days. The US is over twice the size of the EU yet while a passport is not needed for travel within the US, it is needed within the EU.

Travel outside the US is obviously more costly, since a long flight trip is more than likely necssary. My experience anecdotally, is that wherever I have travelled in the world, I always saw plenty of Americans.

Mike Gill 14 Apr Permalink. I back-packed in over 9 countries in South America in and spent some time in Thailand inand I hardly ever saw Americans travelling less in S. In fact, Isrealis seemed to take the cake in both S. Surprising considering the distances and costs involved. And there were definitely more Brits, and even Canadians, in S. Phil 14 Apr Permalink. Steve 28 Apr Permalink. I too was thinking about the issue of US citzens with passports, particularly in the context of recent events and claims of the alleged imperialistic stance being held by the US government.

I vaguely remember hearing this argument and also hearing an additional statement claiming that of the relatively small percentage of US citizens with a passport most of those with a US passport are in fact members of the military or diplomats.

Tammie 2 May Permalink. I have lived in England and Turkey for over 8 years and it amazed me to go back to the US and find out that many Americans have never even left their state, nevermind going to another country.

I think this is a better comparison to Europe since many states are equivelent in size to European countries. Rebecca 18 May Permalink. If you think you have seen more canadians abroad than americans, think again. A lot of americans tell people they are canadians so as not to confront anti-american sentiment. David 7 Jul Permalink.

The total percentage of Americans with passports is actually a pretty poor indicator of how often Americans are travelling abroad. Canada, Mexico, and most of the Caribbean states have never required a passport. Only recently is it being required more often. The size of the country and the diversity of the terrain and climates also make international travel less necessary. Doug Stine 20 Jul Permalink. All of these emails make good points. But as diverse as it is, Americans seem to know little about the foreigners in their own country.

Also, how many people from poor countries have passports? Countries like Tanzania or Morocco or Turkey. Many of them want to get passports just so they can go to another country and get a job. Jake 24 Jul Permalink. The press is controlled by the government and anti-establishment views and reports are not published.

The Government there has the right to punish people without a trial, and is pushing for stringent measures that mean even less freedom of speech.

The people of Burma are unaware of what is going on in the rest of the world and have a huge poverty and unemployment problem that the government tries to cover up.

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The government is guilty of the slaughter of innocent civilans. The last comment comes from someone who clearly does not understand or appreciate the USA. We are far from perfect but we are a long long way from Burma. The comparison makes me sick. If you live in the US, you should leave. If you dont, dont bother coming. Spend your next vacation in Burma or maybe North Korea. Daniel 30 Aug Permalink.

What a stupid comment. They would know it. His logic is flawed. I wonder if Jake is a hater of his own country, or a foreign snob. One thing is for sure, his attitude is bad. Kimberly 1 Sep Permalink. Moving on, another possible reason for lack of US travelers abroad could be that US workers have far less vacation days than other workers around the world, especially Europeans.

Assuming you use a few vacation days for visiting family members, that only leaves a few days to travel and, considering the expense and the travel time alone, staying in the US seems like an easier option. I currently live as an expat in France with my husband who is working for a French company. He gets 8 weeks!!! In general, attitudes toward taking vacation seem to be very different in Europe. Keith 5 Sep Permalink. Does anyone have stats on other countries.

I have been searching the web and not able to find numbers for any other country other then the US. I had someone tell me that Australia had a lower percentage then the US.

Kathy 9 Sep Permalink. Does anyone know what the percentage is for how many Canadians hold passports. Strange that he would say it to me and my other friend who is also American as we were sitting in a bar in Berlin. Well the closest thing I could find was that 1. That number percentage wise seems higher than the States but I guess if I were Canadian, I would want to get the hell out of the freezing cold wasteland myself.

I love Montreal but only about 3 months out of the year. Adrian from London 15 Sep Permalink. As a veteran of the US Air Force, I never had to have a passport, as military orders suffice for all official international travel.

I did have a passport but only because I did a big trip through SE Asia from the ROK. And I doubt that any US soldier had to stop at the border of Iraq to get his passport stamped!! As for the broader question w. Also, when you can go to Hawaii for surfing, Colorado for skiing, San Diego for sailing, Montana for hunting, Minnesota for fishing, Maine for hiking, Washington D.

North America has every climate known to man and a wide variety of culture, cuisine and lifestyles. Boo 25 Sep Permalink. How can you have a respectable opinion on new laws or changes to laws without knowing how the world works?

And is it true that Pres George W. Bush had visited just two countries before becoming Pres, and that one of those was Canada? Keith 26 Sep Permalink. There are a lot of ways to learn about different parts of the world and most elected officials only deal with laws for their own land. I do not think the Mayor of Cleveland should be spending any official time in Ibiza. Steve 8 Oct Permalink. I find it amazing that people are this defensive and agressive towards a statistic of the number of people that travel outside a country.

The number of Americans that see any relevance to the world outside their borders is rather low percentage wise. No country outside of the US dictates policy to them, no people outside of the US have any real ability to influence american opinions or pull them along.

Why then would the majority bother to consider leaving the nation when the people and things that affected their personal decisions were all within reaching distance. Frankly I agree with the fact that more americans SHOULD travel, and yes I agree that they should understand and try to co-exist with peoples from other parts of the globe. Unfortunately this outlook is neither realistic nor likely. The countries in the middle of the road in terms of power and influence are probably far more likely to have a high proportion of travellers.

I wonder if it has to do with something I read somewhere, which is that US news shows have 95 percent stories about the US, and only 5 percent rest-of-the-world content. Keith 5 Nov Permalink. I just read something in the paper today about people traveling in Europe. It is not about about passports but I found it interesting.

From a French report the Dutch travel more then any other Europeans. People in France, Italy and Spain traveled the least with only 1 in 5 leaving the country in the past 12 months.

John Danenbarger 28 Nov Permalink. About the comment of small countries of Europe traveling more, that is not only true out of necessity, but you will notice that the southern countries travel less because they are the ones the rest of Europe travels to for their fair weather.

Samantha Madell 19 Dec Permalink. I heard the thing about American passport ownership for the first time yesterday in Sydney, Australia I might add.

However, back in September Keith insinuated that Australians have lower levels of passport ownership than Americans. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics www. This number represented 5. Furthermore, in the year But STILL we travel. And, I have to add, travelling in foreign lands has been a life-changing experience for me. JC 4 Jan Permalink. Because of my job in the military US I have a blue, brown, and black passport. You can have the rest of the world. Linda Ronstadt had it right….

Richard 15 Jan Permalink. Can anyone tell me what proportion of US passport holders are non-native Americans?

Phil 25 Feb Permalink. A quick note for future commenters: Please avoid anecdotal speculation. Karl 26 Feb Permalink. Any idea what percentage of Americans actually use their passport for travel to foreign countries? Are there stats on how many Americans go to which countries? I want to say that most of the comments on here are very relevant and eye opening but I have yet to see cold hard statistics.

I do want to comment about a couple of posts. First, with the comparison of countries in terms of passports I would love to get that data but I would initially be suspicious due to each country possibly having a different methodology of collecting this data. This may also be why Australia does or seems to have so many more passport holders…I am not sure but I want to throw that question out there.

As for the person stating their antecdotal experiences in South America, you have to realize there are MANY variables to consider. Sure, you may have seen more Israelis and Europeans but what time of the year was it? Seasons are not the same around the world in terms of holidays, school breakes, etc. Also, one thing I have found while studying tourism is that the culture of a country is extremely important to the acceptance of travel…especially long-term.

From what I understand it is not looked down upon to take a year off to travel. In the states it is different…. The same goes for the Israelis. Many of the long-term travellers one comes across in Asia and South America have recently completed their military service and its culturally accepted that they take a year to travel after their service. There are so many variables that come into play. This is actually a field of study that has a lot of empirical reseach being conducted on it.

Back to the stats on passport holders though, I have yet to find a number from a credible source. I hope through the discussions posted on here we will be able to find actual numbers. Justin Hardman 27 Mar Permalink. I think before many people jump to conclusions, there is something everyone should consider: Everyone is parochial, not just Americans.

What I think is a valid statistic for concern is the percentage of decision makers in the United States and elseware for that matter that do not own passports. President Bush famously had not travelled outside the continental US before he became president.

The same is true for most congressmen and senators. WHY we have such few passports is the monumental flaw of our society. OZ is almost as big in comparison. My reason for looking at this site was by pure accident.

You must be English. Phil 30 Mar Permalink. In America, at least on the coasts and in big cities, there are plenty of opportunities to experience other cultures. I have worked closely with people from Sudan, Ethiopia, UK, France great girlfriend: Ethnic restaurants are all over the place - not only big cities. Another old girlfriend had spent a summer studying in Italy so I took her to the Italian restaurant in Disney World. She was very skeptical.

Phil 12 Apr Permalink. Please only post a new comment if you have hard figures with references about the percentage of people in a country who own passports. Renee 13 May Permalink. I am curious about the ethnic breakdown of passport holders. Does anyone have any stats on how many African Americans own passports? Please include the basis for your comment or where I can locate the stats. Nicolas Nierenberg 27 Jun Permalink. The statistic can be found in a single web search.

Jason Kenney 6 Jul Permalink. My apologies in advance for this not being related to passport percentages directly, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand http: UK—, USA—, Germany—, Australia—, France—, Sweden—, Netherlands—, Canada—, Switzerland—, Selucus 19 Jul Permalink.

In the UK in5. David 1 Aug Permalink. Do the military need passports? Given the size of it in the US and the fact that the demographic is unlikely to be in the pasport owning community otherwise does this skew the statistics somewhat?

Mary Spaeth 12 Aug Permalink. Yes, all US citizens travelling abroad to places requiring passports need passports—including military. There are different styles issued for diplomats, military etc. Sure I love the US quite a patriot in factbut after all my years of transiency, I really feel very much a part of this side of the world too. Anyway, flights to Stockholm are only about round trip from Chicago—non stop—8 hours. And today it is 85 degrees and sunny. Karl 17 Aug Permalink.

Paz 1 Sep Permalink. On the same vein as that last comment— I have been looking for statistics on passport ownership breakdown of Republican and Democrat in the US; does anyone know where I could find that? Dan 1 Sep Permalink. Record Number of Americans Request Passports Nov 11, Travel Agent The U.

State Department issued a record 7, passports in fiscal yearwhich ended Sept. The record followed two years of declining passport numbers, according to the department. As a citizen of China livingin the United States for the past 5 years, I would say the Americans travel abroad a lot more than the Chinese.

China, as a country still ruled by the Communist Party and a per capita GDP of less than dollars, has very few passport owners. Michele 17 Sep Permalink. I found the the number of passport holders in the US to be very interesting, but I think it only fair to report that on a trip to Germany, people were amazed when I admitted that I had never visited the Grand Canyon, the Mississippi River, Mt.

Rushmore, or the Statue of Liberty. When planning a vacation, especially when one has children, it seems ridiculous to fly halfway across the world, to visit a country that is only as big as one of our western states.

Liz 27 Sep Permalink. I finally found some numbers. I live in California. Our closest national neighbor is Mexico. I am wondering if this accounts for the increase in passports in the recent past. Another explanation for the low incidence of international travel in the US: Then it is 11 hours in the air SFO-London. It takes a lot of money, effort, and planning to get out of the United States, compared to most of Europe. I am not so sure about Australia.

Jessica 4 Oct Permalink. According to the census, 31 million out of a population of million are foreign born. It should be remembered that one does not have to be a citizen to be counted in the official population in the U.

Tamar Kirschner 13 Oct Permalink. I set out to research this and I can only find evidence to corroborate his claim. I forget about how different the rest of the country can be. Phillip Martin 17 Oct Permalink. They might have their food spat on or be beheaded. I was born in Texas and have lived in several states in different parts of the country and have travelled to several continents.

I believe that a tiny fraction of native born US citizens have passports. Among these, they are mostly the elite in this country. I have been on overseas flights to Europe and Asia where the solid majority of Americans where business executives.

When they cross over by car they see a decrepit Mexico or an identical Canada. They see no need to go any further. The problem starts when these Americans who do not travel outside the United States begin to believe that the world functions exactly as it does here. A large majority of them honestly believe that people want cars, Burger Kings, and Wal-Marts. In the US, the general encompassing culture preaches that we are the best in the world, and that no one else really matters.

Phil 17 Oct Permalink. So enjoy yourselves, slag off every nationality you can think of. Charles Hartman 1 Nov Permalink. It would be interesting to find a way to consider its relation to that other favorite recent statistical concern, the percentage of Americans who believe in creationism rather than in Darwinian evolution.

Phil 1 Nov Permalink. An interesting question, but a whole different kettle of ballgames and not one I wish to get into here. Please keep comments vaguely on topic, thanks.

Ian 3 Nov Permalink. Mike 4 Nov Permalink. Thanks for the stats, very interesting. Statistics on how many are issued are available in the Dept. This gives a total of 3, passports. The Department of Statistics estimates the current population of NZ at 4,, which using your math above means Bit of a contrast with the US there.

These are a bit rougher:. Total is roughly Obviously a few of these are names changes, replacing lost passports etc, but then that applies to any country. Either way this number is a lot higher than I thought it would be. Bradley B 14 Nov Permalink. Cultural education is something that is not taught in schools. I am a 21 year old male living in Southern California Orange County. Both of my parents have passport as well as my grandparents.

I was taught at a young age that traveling the world is something to be cherished, and I am extremely grateful that my parents had the money to send me to Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. I am one of the VERY few Americans that took a gap year well actually it was a year and a halfand I honestly believe that I have learned more about the world in the past year and a half, than I learned during all four years I spent in high school.

When I came back I didn. Sam 15 Nov Permalink. I live in LA and had no idea one could visit Mexico without a passport! American with page passport 21 Nov Permalink. Something that has to be remembered is that Americans only need proof of citizenship for many countries in North America and the Caribbean.

These also happen to be the countries most often visited by Americans. In addition, the US is huge in and of itself, and as far as I know is the only country that has tropical, temperate and arctic climates perhaps France as well because of the Overseas Departments.

Here is a list of places Americans can go sans passport: Colin 22 Nov Permalink. The point I should like to make is that you will likely find a spike in passport applications this year with the re- election of G. Bush from people wishing to leave the U.

Mark 23 Nov Permalink. My wife and I have always kept valid passports. When our son was born nearly four years ago, one of the first things we did was apply for his passport.

We were in Mexico a couple of years ago and believe me it really helps to travel with a passport. We have a new daughter now and we applied for her passport during lunch today. First, I tell them that our next significant trip abroad is the World Cup in Germany. I would say that less then 20 percent of Americans have Passports and probably a large percentage that do have a passport are foreign born.

The reasons are many, one we as Americans have no statutory vacation time under the law. Millions do not have vacations. When you first start a job you may receive a week vacation the first year or maybe none.

If you stay at a company, you average 2 weeks. Our international airline tickets are more expensive then many countries. I pay twice what a German would pay flying to Germany, verses the German coming to America.

They do not have Universal Medical Coverage, Cheap University Educations, and they also have a high cost of living besides the two basics I mentioned. Free Educations, Free Medical and welfare benefits. The Eurodollar is worth 34 cents more then the American dollar, they have more buying power. In Americans travelled more then any other nation, fast forward to the present, we are not near the top.

Because we are no longer a production economy, Europe is more industrialized then America and Japan also has more industry with China coming fast. A much better gauge then unemployment benefits which after 6 months ends and your no longer counted as unemployed.

We have a billion dollar trade debt per year and rising. Federal Debts of at least billion per year counting the raids on our retirement trust funds which they try to hide. Mostly borrowed from Europe, Stock options payment taxes owed and China. Are we the richest? With 70 to 80 trillion dollars in total debt, I intraday pivot points trading system not think so.

For each dollar of profit produced in the American economy we are producing six dollars in debt. We are mostly a service economy based on low wages with a dwindling manufacturing and production economy.

The is research published by scientists around the world. Our education standards for many of our students is behind many countries, because evertime we compete directly with international tests we are towards the bottom.

So I think Americans have more problems then to worry about travelling around the world. If you are in the top 15 to 20 percent of Americans you are doing good, If not your in trouble. Hmm…15 to 20 percent, like the 15 to 20 percent that have passports.

Is there a correlation? Hobart 1 Dec Permalink. You folks from is forex trading vs binary options legal in canada countries outside of the USA are so worldly.

Wow, you really travel a lot. I think you are much more sophisticated than us Americans. You should be so proud and Americans should be so ashamed. Your countries are so amazing. I will bow and make way for you the next time I meet you while abroad, especially, you dubai stock market emaar Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians.

You guys really are superior to us Americans. Marcus Baker 25 Dec Permalink. In the UK you need a passport to start travelling Europe, whereas within Europe border checks are almost non-existent.

That aside, travel from the UK is very easy. Fairs are cheap, English is spoken everywhere and you rarely need visas thanks to our colonial past. As an island gateway we get a return on binary options where itm financial of people passing through, so I think some of the attitude rubs off too.

To travel is the cultural norm. People only travel if they have the money. Karen 26 Dec Permalink. When I was in the US I did not travel abroad for vactions for the above mentioned reasons: When I did have time off, It went to visit family that are spead out over the US.

Now that I am in Europe it is much cheaper to travel to other countries, plus my work gives me more vaction days to do it in! I have noticed in Moscow and in my numerous travels, that most Americans abroad are either students or senior citizens on group tours. NiNi 27 Dec Permalink. Surely the passport agencies know exactly how many people have valid passports?

Stock broker sales assistant resume am I being too nieve? AR 10 Jan Permalink. To reverse a frequent comment above - are there statistics available for what percentage of UK passport holders or other EU passport holders were not citizens at birth?

How to make hip hop beats using fl studio, does anyone know if there is a correlation between the lack of national ids and number of passport holders?

Isaiah 12 Jan Permalink. It was almost annoying how nearly every chat with a fellow traveler led to this mysteriously low woolworths cessnock trading hours australia day of US passport holders. None of these people were rude or annoying themselves, it just got old, and I had no stats to answer them other than those factors mentioned by many browning x bolt medallion stock size of N.

America, limited vacation, costs. BTW, What was more annoying was meeting or over-hearing Americans who, in foreign company, spoke insecurely and apologetically about being Americans. It was like bashing your little brother or parents to look cool for the popular kids.

Are we still a teenager nation? Jamila 18 Jan Permalink. America is the third largest country in the world. You can experience everything from the arctic to the tropic, multiple cultures, hundreds of languages, and a truly mixed population.

The fact is, Britons can hop on a train or a ferry and be in another country after a short ride. Give us le forex pour les nuls break!

Do you have any idea how long it took me to save that? Victoria 19 Jan Permalink. However, I understand most of the reasons why we Americans are not able to travel as frequently as other cultures.

I am just now in a position to travel more outside my borders; vacation time and money have always been the issues. I had finally decided to live inexpensively and travel all over Europe this summer, when I realized how expensive it would be with the exchange rates.

I am disappointed as I wanted to see more than just Western Europe I have heard Croatia is stunningbut I had to modify and plan trips where the dollar will go a long way. Therefore it is Central America and Canada easy ways to earn cash in cityville me. Thanks to the moderator for supplying such an informative website and to the other posters who have enlightened me with their views.

Christine 19 Jan Permalink. I have been looking into this issue because I teach a US Politics class at a British university and am always dismayed stockton ca pitbull puppies for sale how readily even bright people assume that Americans must be insular because they lack passports, without taking all of the factors mentioned into consideration, especially the shortness of vacations.

I found a listing in the infoplease almanac indicating that 23 million Americans travelled overseas inincluding This figure does not include Canada or Mexico, where a certified birth certificate and a photo id might be enough, although a passport is better since it can be replaced while abroad, among other things.

According to the U. State Department, million Americans visited Mexico in According to the Canadian government, U. Although it is impossible to put these together with the overseas travel stats, I know that many members of my family in the U. I looked for that November newspaper article that was mentioned on European travel habits.

After all, there are some resorts in southern Spain which are more like sunny extensions of Britain with a bit of sangre thrown in. Charlene 19 Jan Permalink. I happened upon this site after various discussions with people on how unaware of other countries and cultures a large number of Americans are.

This is not to say ALL Americans are completely ignorant of the the world point and figure charting for mt4 forex their own borders, but the fact remains that there is a large number of people who are. Those of you that have been getting very defensive and in some cases rude about this discussion are mostly passport holders and therefore not the people that this discussion is about.

By the way the rudeness is not helping your cause. I have found that the majority of Americans that DO travel are much more aware and willing to learn about the world.

An earlier comment of the different ways our cultures view travel is valid. This is not so in the USA. This is the fault of the system and not the individuals.

It is this kind of insularism that causes much of the racism and abuse of other cultural and religious beliefs in the world. All the excuses about cost and distance of travel being the reason for lack of passport holders are irrelevent.

If people wanted to travel they would. New Zealand is one of the most expensive places to travel from as we are so isolated. We have only two airports that support flights further than Australia which means huge distances for people to travel to get to their nearest airport. There are only six international airports all of which are on the coast, so anyone living inland has enormous distances to travel.

Again the length of earnmoneyonline365 reviews given is just as irrelevant. The majority of New Zealanders get 3 weeks holiday per year, Australians and the English get western union foreign exchange rates fiji weeks.

A lot of the travel done by these countries is done on a long term basis ie. Incidentally there are five countries that offer working holiday visas to Americans - the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and NZ. I wonder how many people make the most of this opportunity. Michelle 21 Jan Permalink.

Accidental Work from home telecalling jobs in bangalore 24 Jan Permalink. I just discovered this thread today and looked up some data on the web about American overseas travel not necessarily Passport related. Total International Travelers to and idbi bank forex card the U.

In Summary - in there were 56, outbound travelers - 14, to Canada, 17, to Mexico, 24, overseas. Resident Travelers Visiting Overseas Destinations this refers only to overseas travel - not Canada and Mexico. It gives you breakdowns on many parameters - from Region of Residence, to purpose of trip, to main factor in airline choice:. In Summary - Plenty of other stats. I agree with previous posters that the number of vacation days and cost, though they are contributing factors, are not the main reasons for lack of travel and lack of curiosity.

Glyn 10 Feb Permalink. Assuming that everyone who. But one thing I did notice in the Tsunami Disaster was how low the American death toll was in relation to other countries such as Sweden and Germany. Phil 10 Feb Permalink. Therefore the full total population of million should be used. John Edwards 17 Feb Permalink. Embarrassingly I work for the UK government and stumbled on your site while looking for a total figure for UK passport holders.

Not much to add except on a couple of points. One is on ways to get money on nintendogs and cats number of British people who travel outside the EU.

InUK residents travelled to the EU over 45 million times and spent a total of million nights there. This represented 73 per cent of all visits abroad and 55 per cent of all nights spent abroad. These figures increased by 21 per cent and 16 per cent respectively over the past five years. InUK residents travelled to non-EU Europe over 5. Many visited countries which have subsequently joined the EU.

It is likely, therefore, that figures will show that approximately 80 per cent of all visits abroad and 65 per cent of all nights spent abroad by UK residents were within the EU France 12 million visits in and Spain nearly 14 million visits in between them account for about 40 per cent of all visits abroad by UK residents. I think there is a greater variety of culture and language within the EU. I lived for four years in China and found that the backpackers transiting the country had learnt little or nothing either about the local people or themselves.

Conversely, you can meet people of infinite wisdom who have sat on the same bar stool for the last 35 years and let human experience come to them. Joe Traveler 17 Feb Permalink. Then again, why worry about facts and reasons; when smear tactics are much more fun. Keith 20 Feb Permalink. Of course Americans could just be insular and self centered, personally I dont mind if they stay in their own country, then I dont have to encounter them.

Oh and by the way I have an American brother in Law. Terence Nunn 21 Feb Permalink. Most of these comments miss the point. It does not mean that Americans are stupid because so few of them own passports. The frightening thing is that here is a country with enormous firepower whose inhabitants know and care so little about the world outside their borders that they can cheer on adventures like the invasion of Iraq and may yet drag us all into World War 3.

Jerry 23 Feb Permalink. Why should we care about the rest of the world. Sure, openness stock trading platforms australia other cultures is important, but America is the dominant force in the world.

Americans take great pride in their homeland and rightly so, I have been to about 30 countries on 4 continents and I dont really care to ever leave again, prehaps slip across into Mexico for a little fun. To knock Americans for not leaving isnt fair. And to comment on our elected officials, their job is to protect the interests of the United States, not Europe.

Sure, legislation passed in the United States may effect Europeans, unfortunately Europeans are not part of their constituency standard chartered bank share price therefore they dont care about you. I dont know if my congressman has ever been to Europe, and I dont really care.

Eli 1 Mar Permalink. The vast majority of people in the U. What I really want to know is how many young people travel to third world countries from developed nations? How much cultural my forex dashboard free download does America have compared to other developed countries?

I think we Americans and all world powers need to be much more involved in the world around us. In a time when our nations production base is being shipped over seas, our standard of living is dropping, and multinationals are working in a lawless enviroment, we should be informed.

Problem is to many of us FOX news is the news and the rest of the world is filled with dirty evil terrorists or american hating euro-hippies. Be nice, unless we sound like Jerry, then you can sock us. Jerry 2 Mar Permalink. Lets play fair here Eli… Perhaps I did sound a bit aggressive; however, you were wrong as well commodity brokerage firms canada jump to conclusions about me.

Honestly Eli, how many thrid world countries have you been to? I hope it is alot, I honestly do. What I do not understand; however, is why you would be so apt to not defend your home country. You complain about FOX News, but you are obviously a liberal, and therefore get your news from any other source of News in the United States that is not FOX News, and therefor has a left wing bias.

Unless you actually believe that CNN, any of the big 3, or how do you get more dogs on nintendogs 3ds local newspaper give a balanced report of the news.

However, in the spirit of fairness, you did make a good point about statistics on travel to third world countries. That would be an interesting comparitive statistic. Unfortunately, I dont believe whether or not you have set foot in a third world country makes you a better citizen of the world.

Final point… if, as you claim our standard of living is dropping which would be a bit counterintuative since unemployment is going down, and the Wall Street Journal reported today the US economy grew 3. To all Americans out there, get out, travel the west… board the 8 hour flight from Honolulu to Atlanta, spend a week driving from NYC to LA, sunbath on three different coasts, admire mountains over 20, ft high Mt. Mckinley and grill a steak and drink a cheap cold beer while your at it.

Mike 11 Mar Permalink. It is good to see an intellectual discussion based on real statistics although I feel sorry for the webmaster for the deviation from the original topic. There is quite a lot that can be learnt from travelling the world, be it about history, culture, or developing a much more informed understanding about politics. But I think that the most important thing that can be learnt is that different people from different countries and cultural backgrounds have very different perspectives on the world.

It is quite sad to see that so few citizens of the most influential country in the world or at least in this period of historyunderstands so little about the views and culture of the rest of the world. I have been to the EU as well as Sri Lanka and India, and so can say from experience that no Indian resteraunt, or novel is a substitute for the being immersed in the culture of the country itself. The relatively small number of U.

S travellers abroad are a telling of the lack of understanding and empathy of the perspectives of the rest of the world. To Jerry, although I would like to visit the U. S modern comes close to comparing to that of the rest of the world. I guess it depends on what you are interested in, there is some quality beer in germany and some nice mountains in the himalayas from what I hear….

Rich 14 Mar Permalink. Some would say, like the above that no other country dictates or has any influence over the U. I would say that would be false since earn money cpu cycles of the money that the country runs on, Government and Private comes from Japan, Europe and China, over 1 trillion dollars a year. When I go to the store, everything is made overseas.

We only produce 50 percent of our own manufacturing needs and 70 percent of our oil comes from other countries. We Speak English and to a lessor extent Spainish,is that American? Our religions, Catholics for example, mostly came from Europe and to a lessor asx gold stocks to buy other areas of the World, Hindu for example.

America from to was a very different and special place where people could come and escape prosecution, political and economic. Economics is the key because that leads to political. The past 20 years we have been eroding, economically and politically which are one in the same.

We have a gini-index of 46 and rising, with such a rich poor gap why does it surprise people overseas that we do not travel that much. Why is the Euro-dollar 34 cents more then the American dollar? And that is a new currency! We analytics for binary option signals free daily travelled the World more then most other countries!

When I drive up and down the roads in Tampa, we have many stores and restuarants. I would say that is where the majority of the people work. And not just Tampa, Walmart is the biggest employer in the U. Current Account deficits approaching billion dollars a year, Governmental debts approaching billion a year including the raids on the S. Over 60 percent of our research budget goes into the military, so how can our products in the civilian world compete?

The Military is very currupt with the money, no competition so even much of the military money is wasted. Look up the Grandfathers economic report and read some of the stats from the World Bank, IMF, Economist magazine,etc. Jack 22 Mar Permalink. Thank you for assembling this data. Ron Larson 24 Mar Permalink. Sometimes all you get trade forex with support and resistance strategies two weeks.

It is hard to cram a trip to the other side of the planet in such a short time. Hence, when they have time, they often have young children too.

We have awesome parks everywhere that can take a lifetime to explore. When you have a family ofit is often much cheaper to simply drive the family car to a vacation spot in the US or Canada. Mexico and Caribbean offer resorts and cruises that are affordable and quick to get to.

Why fly to Greece when you can go to Cancun? Why fly to Queensland to dive when charters to the Caymans are not that much? So there you are. They have some kids to drag along and only 12 days off. No having to lean another language, find hotels, wait in lines. Just climb aboard and relax.

Michael 24 Mar Permalink. Many write poems and make money the arguments made thus far sound like excuses rather than legitimate reasons. Travel can be accomplished on a shoestring budget, especially to developing countries.

The notion that it is expensive to travel is based on the assumption that one will maintain their level of comfort. That includes transport, lodging, meals, and entertainment. In the modern world, America will not maintain its current status by isolating itself and disrespecting the rest of the world. Sorry for ruining your statistical calculations all those that were estimating the uk passport figures.

Rich 2 Apr Permalink. One of the reasons American may not travel outside the U. I met an American Eddie while travelling in Chile, and he told he that he gets a lot of negative comments from other travellers, about U.

Eddie explained that it was mainly Canadians and Europeans making criticisms of the U. Examples of negative comments Eddie gave were - people mentioning the Kyoto protocol, and that the U. Tom 5 Apr Permalink. There is no such thing as the US Office of Central Statistics. Americans are ultimately like everyone else.

Oh, and because this is a very big place, some of us live very, very far from big cities, big airports, and cheap international airfares. Mike D 6 Apr Permalink. Interesting stuff, i read it all. I was born near heidelberg but have lived in Canada most of my life. I have never been back to Europe. I live in Vancouver name for a stock market speculator the last places I visited were Tokyo, Seoul, Seattle and Hong Kong.

Also North America has lots of places to see without needing a passport… although it will now be required within two years. Imagine - Every American visiting Mexico or Canada will have to show their passprt to re-enter USA legally at least! As for statistics does anyone know what country has the most international visitors every year?

If USA is near the top then there is binary trading profitable strategies question why so many can afford to visit stock market capitalism welfare capitalism japan and germany versus the anglo-saxons pdf not as stock market capitalism welfare capitalism japan and germany versus the anglo-saxons pdf US nationals visit abroad.

Brad 6 Apr Permalink. Hey - News report today: Passports May NOT be optional soon… It goes on to say Feds proposing new rule for travel in the Americas From Desert News:. The federal government announced Tuesday that it wants millions of American citizens returning to the United States from Canada and Mexico to be required to present a U. The tough, new proposed travel requirement would be phased in gradually at airports, seaports and land crossings over the next 32 months, if adopted by the administration after public comment.

Under the proposal, U. The State Department said other travel documents may be accepted under the proposal but that a U. Bush discussed details of the planned passport rule with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Mexican President Vicente Fox at their three-way summit in Waco, Texas, on March Bush has faced mounting political pressure from Republicans in Congress, led by Rep.

Phil 8 Apr Permalink. Canadian 12 Apr Permalink. Jack Perschke 13 Apr Permalink. I work for a large international aid agency. I spent last year in Afghanistan and this year in Somalia. I have noticed how, in these two limited examples, European aid workers hugely out numbered American ones.

Europeans, particularly Brits like me, have a colonial history. I was brought up on tales of Brits exploring the world this has always inspired me. Perhaps the stories of the frontier in America have led to a similar inspiration for internal exploration? I hope someone can find stats on Americans in international development I think it would be interesting.

I look forward to further comments. Jerry 17 Apr Permalink. Jack, that was an excellent point. As a westerner myself, I have, in 60 second binary option platforms judi past few years rekindled the love I have of the west.

I have done a fair share of travel abroad, but my overwhelming affection of the west seems to keep me close to home, at least relative to the other side of the globe.

There is no doubt in my mind that many other people share this same affection that I do. Matt 5 May Permalink. I am a dual citizen between the USA and Australia… I currently live in NSW.

I must agree with many of the American generated comments. Im not overly concerned with being American or Australian or whatever. I like to travel, work, read, hang out with my wife, surf, and train my dog. I think that any of these people Americans included that attack the integrity of all Americans, based on fallable statistics, are just as idiotic as the people they are picking on. Sorry, but its usually the unemployed, backpackers, uni students, and six fingered banjo players.

Not anyone Im too worried about earning the respect of….

Michelle 19 May Permalink. Tom 23 May Permalink. Jack makes one of the most insightful points yet: The British in particular are from my observation inspired making money blogging wordpress an early age to look beyond a relatively small island and explore the exotic, the unknown, the colonial!

Erik 3 Jun Permalink. Just watching the Daily Show on Comedy Central. I was shocked to hear that number. I also found this:. Heheh, like Erik I was just watching the Daily Show as well. I have a feeling this site is going to get a boost in popularity thanks to Mr.

Anyway, an earlier poster asked about which countries are the most popular tourist destinations. According to this, France was the destination for Inforex vremea book also has predicted stats from the World Tourism Organization based on data.

Interesting stats, I am not sure what they necessarily prove. I would assume the stats are largely similar to the trends of today. However I have done very little travel within Canada itself. Monjo 8 Jun Permalink. However a decrease of 7. Nevertheless, residents of the USA made 3. Is the US an island? Is it the one looking creatively forward to the future, or the other seeking refuge and security in the past? Is the country geographically and culturally diverse? Yes, but not to the point that a trip abroad with eyes and mind open will be any less stunning or informative.

The second being that if travelling internationally or just to the corner store and your pack of certainties remains intact over the duration of the journey, it all meant precious little. Richard 17 Jun Permalink. I have to question J. Brad 20 Jun Permalink. Suellen 24 Jun Permalink.

It seems you have to be positive about other countries and negative about your own or vice versa. I bet they all dream bigger than the rest of us. She is more than a statistic, more than just an ignorant non passport holder.

The fact that all of us can read and have internet access puts us in an elite group when compared to the entire world. Jerry 30 Jun Permalink. Suellen, that was a very nice post, I enjoyed reading it. You must work discretionary trading system the state department.

Mario 1 Jul Permalink. Richard 2 Jul Permalink. Skippy 7 Jul Permalink. Americain in genereal are not welcome to alot of places through out the world. Jerry 8 Jul Permalink. Skippy… That seems like a bit of a close minded statement you, yourself just made. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in your country. Americans as a whole are having a very difficult time at present. You may say that it is an excuse that we use money as a reason for not travelling or time. We have double digit inflation rates and stagnant wages.

House prices in Holiday, Florida have gone up 25 percent this past year. Healthcare up 14 percent. College Education costs up 12 percent this past year.

You hard-headed people out there, Get the picture? My Mother ownes a small busines, she works 16 hour days at times. There have been years that she has not taken any vacation time.

No Welfare or Unemployment Safety nets for her! What do you not get through your heads? Jerry 23 Aug Permalink. Thomas… What was the point of that post. Some people in America are having hard times? I think that is true for anywhere. And it seems to me that you are defending Americans for not having passports.

If you are trying to shamelessly deface Americans, than shame on you. Your points are somewhat vague. If property values in Holiday, FL… which is not a major city by any means… have gone up 25 percent that means that making an investment in this town is a financially secure move. I wish I would have invested in property in this town, i would have some money to show for it.

Thomas, you took an unmerited cheap shot at your own country and that is unfortunate. Somebody, please post something meaningful that is more than just a cheap shot at america. I am a proud American and I understand that everyone thinks they are better than us because they can drive for an hour and be in France and consider that abroad.

Please bring a valid arguement to the table. Laura Brown 26 Aug Permalink. The article is online at http: Max 29 Aug Permalink.

Also, I lived in the USA for 6 years on an H1B via and it is most definitely required to have a passport to travel within the USA.

Thomas 29 Aug Permalink. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio I wonder how may people from France have come here? I have always wanted to see Japan and Austrailia. I would like to visite my relations in Germany. I cannot spend four months wages to fly around the planet to spend two days in europe grumpy from jetlag and then turn around and go home. I have been to 37 states countries!

I have also been to mexico and canada, why because I can drive there. If I could drive to Spain I would have been there years ago. The term arose obviously as a means of shortening an unwieldy name, not to disenfranchise from the international arena everyone to the north and south of US borders. This coming from a society that willing embraces a plethora of tabloids as their source for daily news of the world!

Yet let the American tourist rate drop as it has lately since the exchange rate has been unfavorable and every B and B owner I visit asks me where the Americans went - their businesses are suffering! I could make a very similarly structured argument and express my very real shock at the low percentage of the UK population that attends university, much less how many hold masters and doctoral degrees, and then claim that this somehow accounts for the incredibly entrenched and horrifyingly backward social attitudes and mores, particularly toward women, that I witness there.

I just last week explained to two Brits who King Arthur was and what the Mabanogian is! The very foundation of an argument that posits one nation or nationality as being this way and another nation or nationality as being that way is flawed in that it overrides the enormous complexity of issues involved and does nothing towards revealing the true dynamics at work. Oh, and let me just mention that it was in this century - to be exact - that I heard an average Brit - one whose job involved use of a computer - explain that black people are black because their mothers had intercourse with Satan.

Ella 31 Aug Permalink. I believe that owning a passport has its advantages. And if you ask me, I will say most american fear the thought of leaving their country. LC 31 Aug Permalink. I am an American and very proud of it. I was doing research on living in other countries when I came across this site. I am absolutely appalled. I can not believe how ignorant and unbelievably presumptuous some of you are from other countries!! How dare you even begin to think you know what it is like to be an American?!

I was looking to got to school in the UK, but now I am definitely rethinking that possibility.

How many Americans own passports? (Phil Gyford’s website)

I really had no idea how wide-spread anti-American sentiments run. It is completely naive to say that Americans are not encouraged to care about other countries, that is simply not true. American children are taught tolerance of other countries and religion at a very early age, and it continues into their schooling.

But to MOST Americans travel to another country is an unattainable dream. Frankly, I think Europeans take this privilege for granted. Not only is it terrifying to hear all the anti-American sentiments but most Americans can NOT afford to travel, even to other states.

It is also very ignorant to say that we do not appreciate citizens of other countries. When we get to encounter someone from another country we want to know everything we can about them and their way of life.

For the most part we are extremely friendly and their political and religious beliefs are not criticized within minutes of meeting them. Jerry 2 Sep Permalink. You are a great American and it is great to see people like you standing up for Americans like us at this site. America is the third most populous country on the planet, and there are a few bad apples on every tree, but the intentions of Americans are good and always have been.

Jeff 5 Sep Permalink. However, there are 72 million kids under 18 in the country; I have no idea how many of them have passports. Yes, it sounds awfully low. Still, more than 27 million U. I found a copy of the same story online. This was the relevant passage:. QoQ 18 Sep Permalink. I have lived here all my life watching the situation slowly decline for a large portion of the American population and people like you stick up for our Government which is selling us out to foreigner powers left and right.

If you choose to ignore that nice little fact then How Pro-American are You? I have 5 years higher education in business, I have worked for several large corporations, I have trained for several Technical degrees and I can truthfully tell you that for most American our standard is deteriorating.

Everything I said and If you choose to ignore it is backed by stats from the I. And I am the true American for trying to get a response from the people who only care about themselves. I will bring some valid points to the table since you want some. The Euro is higher then the American dollar, We have an billion dollar trade debt, billion dollar Government debt.

For such poor areas why would we borrow money from them if our financial system is so strong? It reflects directly on our travel patterns when the economy is not producing jobs that give Americans the time and money to travel to other countries.

We are a service economy and 1. The tax rate is about 35 percent, many states around the country when considering the high land taxes, State taxes and so forth have higher tax rates then Germany.

How can we be doing so well if for every dollar of profit in the economy we are accumulating 5 dollars in debt? This means the inflation is much higher then admitted and therefor many American have economic troubles besides traveling. Richard 25 Sep Permalink. Want to respond to this comment: In response to tom, I have a few comments: Until the EU, actually becomes a soveriegn nation, comparisons are not valid. We do not have a higher tax rate than Germany.

You did not mention their VAT tax that they pay on everything they buy. You also did not mention their extremely high gasoline taxes, which makes their gasoline prices around twice ours. If you were to consider ALL taxes paid by both nations, Germany would still be way higher than ours.

Housing costs have skyrocketed in many places in the nation. Where I live is one of them. So you could and many havesell their house at a good profit, then move someone where else. Yes, I could sell our house in Florida and move someplace else. That is a valid point. Gasoline is more expensive in Germany but many people use diesal cars which can get 50 miles per gallon.

Germany spends 8 percent of the GDP on Petroleum products, we spend 14 percent. Germany- 10 percent of GDP U. House Insurance is more expensive here, Medical Insurance is more expensive in the U. Workmans Comp Insurance is more expensive here in the U. I have a friend who owned a house in Clearwater, Florida and she was from Germany. She retired here and stayed for about 5 years, at the beginning the prices were similar to Germany but as time went on she moved to Costa Rica because the cost of living increased Greatly.

When the Government figures inflation they leave Housing, Food, Fuel and many Other items out of the equation basically they only count the cost of many basic consumer items which is maybe 25 percent of the cost of living. In New York Taxes can run over 40 percent of income not counting land taxes.

In Florida I spend 50 Dollars a month for water. Water and garbage included. I guess If I was a European or Japanese business person and I owned a good portion of the U. I would attempt to keep things Hush, Hush while I made my Money off my Colony! And to Verify that you look at the current account deficit and the Governmental Deficit that we owe them which comebined is 1.

German Media Companies own 60 percent of U. No Influence over the way we think? There is a word for this-Globalization Another term would be Neo-colonization. Trevor Holcroft 5 Oct Permalink. Mate you should see what we here in Britain pay for our Water Electricty bills and our local council taxes! Yes,Britain probably has the highest cost of living in Europe! I visited London about 5 years ago and it was very expensive.

Britain, like America has been opened up to the profiteers and we are all suffering for it! You say what does that have to do with Taxes and cost of living, everything! The politicians are trying to keep the benefits of the past generations while the country declines industrially.

Britain has a huge current account deficit like America and is losing vast amounts of wealth to outside profiteers.

And as the economy goes so goes Democracy-Usually anyway. America has the most people behind bars and on probation in the world. Britain also has a high incarceration rate compared to the rest of Europe. France and Germany for instance has much lower rates of inprisonment then our countries.

They too have problems but they are both still very large creditor nations and whatever the media wants to say it basically means they are both very wealthy countries. Germany is the second wealthiest in the world behind Japan and France I believe is the fourth largest creditor meaning they still have a very strong industrial base and corporations. Desmond 11 Oct Permalink. And what occupation do most passport holders have. Average Age of passport holders is 35 and up. The economic situation in the U.

We have a Gini-index approaching 50 which is by far the highest in the industrialized world. If this continues, in the future America will have the characteristics of a third world country.

For every dollar of profit in the U. IN reality, No Economic Growth but growth in debts which in the future will come due to the Creditors, like Germany and Japan. The people are in a feeding frenzy over the housing bubble so it blinds them to our situation. We have the most expensive univeristy system in the world, leaving some without college training and others with massive debts.

We have the most expensive healthcare in the world leaving 50 million without coverage, over million with partial coverage and millions more with massive debt. We have a massive housing bubble, leaving young workers without the opportunity to buy houses and producing a huge credit bubble. WE have a huge current account deficit of billion!

We have lost a huge chunk of our manufacturing base, including hightech areas. We have a Governmental deficit of over billion! They are buying our assets with this money!

We have 45 trillion dollars in debt throughout the U. That should explain somewhat why many people do not travel overseas, many people do not take vacations all the time period and many more must bring their work with them on their vacations. That is what happens when you become a debtor nation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I read that in 16 million American tourists visited Canada. At the present time you do not need a passport but within a few years the U. Government will require Canadians crossing the border to have their passports so Americans also will need Passports to visit Canada.

I also read that the U. Government now wants Canadian Tourists who stay more than 1 month to seek permission. It looks like in the future the border may nolonger be open as it has been in the past. The number of Americans buying realestate in Canada has greatly increased the past few years partly because of the politics in Washington and also in certain areas Canadian Realestate is cheaper than U.

Many are second homes and some are actually moving to Canada to live and work, also some retirees. Also, when in Europe you only need to show your passport once when entering at the airport or port. You can travel to 27 countries at present, more in the future and they all have open borders. Basically like traveling from one State to another.

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Also, when in Europe you only need to show your passport once when entering the E. Richard Wood 9 Nov Permalink. As has previously been stated by a number of people, both European and US citizens, the US is made up of 50 states each easily the size of a European country. To compare simply the number of people with passports in Europe or America is not really a fair comparison since international travel from the US usually constitutes intercontinental travel - how many people in Europe have travelled outside their own continent?

The majority of British holidaymakers go to Spain, France, Italy or other European countries, and the majority of intercontinental travellers go to the US! I have no idea of the holiday habits of other European countries, but I would imagine the statistics are largely the same. Tom Herman 10 Nov Permalink. It is really amazing to me how people of one country seem to focus on what is supposedly different or worse about the people of another country instead of focusing on what traits and similarities they share.

In the case of the UK and the US, can you possibly think of two cultures that are more similar among the larger nations of the world? Gorka 10 Nov Permalink. It is sad to see such nice people with such great potential totally wasted due to a poor education system. Americans are usually unaware of world geography or hitory or current affaires. You can go through the education system and get your degree without the need to study world history or geography.

The americans are IDIOTS! They think they own the world but have no knowledge of it; they are ignorant and have no concept of other cultures!

Luv, I can understand why you would like to insulate yourself from the barbarian hordes of my fellow countrymen though, in fairness, their ancestors fought two wars in the distant past to establish that precedence themselves….

Without a doubt, there is much truth in your vitriol. I personally vacillate between hope, despair, pride, and shame at regular intervals. And comedy and tragedy, just to add a touch of Shakespeare. I would assume from your diatribe about cultural ignorance, that you would wish not to be seen as the poster child for those aforementioned hooligans. Angry American 26 Nov Permalink. I think that most Americans are afraid of travel to other countires mainly, because of the anti-Bush vibe that other countries have.

Over time the Anti-Bush vibe has changed to anti-Americanism. Yet, Americans are getting harrassed, put down, and assaulted! Especially nice to you ARABS! When it was ARABS who crashed planes into the world trade center! BUSH SUCKS and so do his supportors!

The British have bad teeth and are very unattractive 26 Nov Permalink. Yeah, see, We have stereotypes for you, too. Not ALL Americans are idiots just like not all British people are ugly and have rotting teeth. I can go where it snows. I can go where it rains. I live in sunny California. No wonder you guys hate us. Tim 29 Nov Permalink. I find all these statistics on the percentage of Americans owning passports fascinating.

To suggest that going to Chinatown in a US state gives an accurate representation of China is ridiculous, to suggest that there are many more areas of interest in America than Australia is equally naive.

People have also likened travel in Europe to travelling around America- I would seriously challenge this presumption. There are huge cultural diversities within every European country let alone across the whole of Europe. In Poland and the Czech Republic for example you have countries still emerging from communism are Americans aware that this even occuredyou have the huge variety of nationalities within individual nations let alone across Europe.

I also think that Americans perhaps dont realise that Europe does consist of more than just Britain, Germany, France and Italy! There is a whole area called Scandanavia which has vastly different ways of living to the British and the rest of Europe.

There are well over 30 nations Turkey, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Slovenia, Croatia and Malta to name a few in Europe each with its own peculiarites which without wishing to offend Americans is far more diverse than I think you will find in your nation. Its also not so cheap for us Europeans to go to places in Asia and Africa but we still go because we value the learning experience.

Travel teaches you more than a years worth of lectures will ever do because you are constantly seeing things different from the comfort zone that we all live in when we are in our own country- we learn not only about other people and cultures but also a lot about ourselves. Perhaps if more Americans travelled abroad you would see that other countries are permitted more leave time from work than yourselves and that is something that perhaps could be challenged and possibly changed in your own country if enough Americans were aware of it.

So I will be hoping that more Americans apply for passports for no other reason than it will benefit them as individuals, as a nation as a whole and hopefully th rest of the world too.

Minnesnowta 12 Dec Permalink. Europeans can catch ryan-air and hop around the continent for less than 10 euros. Americans can catch a cold packed in an overpriced seat on a for 15 hrs to get to the same locales. In a purely capitalist environment, one must work for their education, success, healthcare, and retirment. There is no socialized subsidy to pad the pockets of its middle class.

Besides, just like someone mentioned above, America has every climate and recreational pursuit you can imagine at hand.

Rich 28 Dec Permalink. Yes America and the UK may have many similarities, and we are rightly extremely welcoming to Americans and people of all countries but I think that there are many countries we are far closer to culturally.

An American commentator in the London Times stated that this showed how culturally different the two countries were as such a move in the US would likely be met with much protest and probably not pass into law.

The biggest sporting event in the UK this year was the Ashes Cricket test between England and Australia, and the biggest sporting event in Australia in will be the return series, but cricket hardly warrants a mention in the US media perhaps because there is no US involvement.

My advice to travellers is; 1. Basically, give people a chance! Perhaps if people from other countries are more tolerant then America passport ownership will increase. C Tabb 29 Dec Permalink.

These tax comparisons are completely false. I have lived and worked in Britain, Germany, CZech Republic, the US and Canada. The lowest taxed nation by far of these is the US. Riccardo is no accountant, as he mentions the top tax rate for Americans while not mentioning that these rates kick in abouthigher than the top rates in Britain, Canada or Germany. Additionally, in the US there are massive deductions!!

This has not been even mentioned in his rants. And he speaks of high land taxes!?!?! In Britain I paid double, in Canada where I live in a smaller city, I pay about the same as in Atlanta - which is rather high for the US. I rented in Germany and Czech, so I am unaware if the property taxes. Riccardo does not do his own taxes! Ert Dredge 8 Jan Permalink.

Dave 9 Jan Permalink. Flavia Lagnado 10 Jan Permalink. So stopping picking on the less affluent. Another statistic - South America has won more FIFA world cup titles than Europe - so next time think twice before saying Americans do not understand football. Plus South America has lots of llamas, none of which have passports - but some are found in zoos all over the world - so one cannot conclude that passports are an essential tool in acquiring a cosmopolitan lifestyle. Dan Margetts 20 Jan Permalink.

I should like to thank Phil for starting this post, and everyone else who has contributed. For academic purposes, I have recently needed to write a letter to President Bush. I chose a theme that centred on the topic of this thread and have read every post with great interest.

Indeed, the ideas of most have been very helpful and some, quite inspirational. I have pasted below what I wrote in return. I hope some of you find what I have written to be interesting and even useful in your own research. I repeated my answer but to no avail. In isolation, this dialogue could be put down to the waitress not understanding my British accent.

However, it got me thinking. And what are the implications? Subsequent research has turned up some interesting statistics. Of those, the majority were held by residents of only four states: New York, Washington, Florida and California 2notably wealthier coastal states, with better educated populations than average. Perhaps this apparent lack of appetite for international travel is to be expected, with the country being so large and having so much to see and do within it.

Travel distances and costs are often high, both to international airports and the destinations they serve.

But Europe is not a fair comparison because short distances and low costs make international travel easy. But what about Australians? This apparent reticence continues in the field of education. In only 1. It is notable that Asia which includes China, India, some ex-Soviet states and the Middle East contributes So it does seem to be the case that the American People are significantly less well-travelled than others in the world with similar opportunity, and that therefore there may be a case to support their reputation.

But why and what are the consequences? From this, it could be concluded that Americans are simply not as interested in the rest of world as their peers.

A logical explanation for this may lie in education and culture. Anecdotally, it seems that Americans are taught to look inwards and to celebrate their own country and its history. That is not to make a judgement as to who is right and who is wrong, but with that background, there is no wonder that, relatively speaking, Americans are not well travelled. They used to be. But, Mr Bush, your government is now making decisions on behalf of others that the people who elected you know and care very little about.

These are often big decisions that affect all of us Iraq being a classic examplewhich strikes me as dangerous, both to the American People and the rest of the world. Perhaps of greater concern to Americans would be the future of the United States in the emerging global economy. If the majority have their backs to the 3 billion increasingly well educated people more than 10 times the population of the US forming the Chinese, Indian and South American emerging economies, so many of whom travel for their education, then they will not see the economic Tsunami that is headed in their direction.

Given that there may be some foundation behind the reputation the American People have for being insular, then they could be forgiven for feeling that theirs is the best, that everyone else would do well to adopt. But only because that is what they have been taught. I propose that the education system, lack of travel and the US media does little to help the majority empathise with the rest of the world and so see potential improvements and alternatives to the American Way, or indeed wisdom that exists elsewhere in cultures that are more mature than their own.

My conclusion — I worry for America. Is it ready for the new global economy? Are the people ready to compete? Are they embracing competition and rising to the challenges and opportunities that it presents?

Are they equipped to leverage the knowledge present in other cultures? Or have they become fearful, retreating behind their own borders, slipping into protectionist trade practices, hoping their inexorable consumerism will prevent the American Dream from turning to a nightmare? And if you do, remembering that those coastal states with higher proportions of passport holders did not vote for you in the last Presidential elections, what are you doing about it?

Of the 45, only Japan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Canada, United States, Venezuela and Mexico are significant economies.

Glen 21 Jan Permalink. Again, a bit off course but the diverse ideas and arguments are certainly entertaining. Mostly wise sentiments with a few potshots from the Knothead Contingent thrown in!