Factfulness Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the World

Mars is sometimes called the Red Planet. It's red because of rusty iron in the ground. Like Earth, Mars has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, and weather. It has a very thin atmosphere made of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon.

Blue whales are the largest animals ever to live on our planet. They feed almost exclusively on krill, straining huge volumes of ocean water through their baleen plates (which hang from the roof of the mouth and work like a sieve).

The Nile River is considered as one of the longest rivers in the world. The Nile has a length of about 6,695 kilometers (4,160 miles). The Nile basin is huge and includes parts of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo (Kinshasa), Kenya. The Nile River forms an arcuate delta as it empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

Covering approximately 63 million square miles and containing more than half of the free water on Earth, the Pacific is by far the largest of the world's ocean basins. All of the world's continents could fit into the Pacific basin. The Pacific is the oldest of the existing ocean basins.

According to WHO, people living in a low-income country are far more likely to die of a communicable disease than a noncommunicable disease. Despite the global decline, six of the top 10 causes of death in low-income countries are communicable diseases. Malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS all remain in the top 10.

In demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently living. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded eight billion in mid-November 2022.

According to data from Wikipedia, the global literacy rate, which measures the percentage of individuals aged 15 and older who can read and write, stands at 86.3%. This statistic signifies significant progress in worldwide education and reflects the increasing accessibility of learning opportunities for adults.

According to the WHO, In 2022, 73% of the global population (6 billion people) used a safely managed drinking-water service – that is, one located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination.

China holds the unenviable distinction of being the world's largest contributor to global carbon emissions, releasing over 10 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. This massive carbon footprint underscores the urgent need for substantial environmental reforms and efforts to combat climate change on a global scale.

Globally the life expectancy increased from less than 30 years to over 72 years; after two centuries of progress we can expect to live much more than twice as long as our ancestors. And this progress was not achieved in a few places. In every world region people today can expect to live more than twice as long.

According to Hootsuite, the number of Global Internet users has already reached almost 5 billion, or about 53% of the global population as of 2021.

In 1980 WHO declared smallpox eradicated – the only infectious disease to achieve this distinction. This remains among the most notable and profound public health successes in history.

According to United Nations, more than half of global population growth between now and 2050 is expected to occur in Africa. Africa has the highest rate of population growth among major areas. The population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double by 2050. 

In 2021, according to recent data from Wikipedia, an impressive 91.4% of the global population enjoyed access to electricity. This statistic underscores significant progress in ensuring widespread access to a fundamental resource, highlighting the importance of global efforts to improve living conditions and promote sustainable development.

Today, less than 10 percent of the world population lives in extreme poverty. Based on information about basic needs collected from 15 low-income countries, the World Bank defines the extreme poor as those living on less than $1.90 a day.