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| - A 2020 survey found that 23% of registered U.S. voters — not all Americans — could correctly identify Iran on an unlabeled world map.
In March 2026, as the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran was escalating, posts circulating on social media claimed that only 23% of Americans could point to Iran on a map. The posts often included graphics showing a map of the Middle East and were typically shared to criticize Americans' geographic knowledge or political awareness.
For example, one X user shared a graphic titled "Americans were asked to point to Iran on a map," captioning the post: "I hope this was not true…" The image stated "23% correctly identified Iran."
"The overwhelming majority of Americans can't even find Iran on a map," another user captioned the map.
For years, variations of the claim spread on social media platforms including Facebook, Reddit, X and Instagram.
In short, the widely shared statistic that only 23% of Americans can point to Iran on a map originates from a real 2020 survey by Morning Consult (a research firm) and Politico. However, the poll measured registered U.S. voters, not all Americans. In that survey, 23% of registered voters correctly identified Iran on a global map, while 28% did so on a zoomed-in map of the Middle East.
As such, the claim is mostly true, but missing context.
Where the statistic comes from
The statistic comes from a January 2020 poll conducted by Morning Consult in partnership with Politico that asked respondents to identify Iran on unlabeled maps. The survey was conducted among 1,995 registered U.S. voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. It was conducted shortly after a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an event that significantly heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.
Researchers tested respondents' geographic knowledge using two types of maps. When shown a zoomed-in map of the Middle East, 28% of respondents correctly identified Iran. When shown a larger global map, 23% selected the correct location. The latter figure is the number that has most frequently circulated online.
The poll also revealed that respondents frequently confused Iran with other locations. Some participants selected nearby countries such as Iraq, while others placed Iran in areas far outside the Middle East.
Importantly, the survey did not measure the knowledge of all Americans. It surveyed registered U.S. voters, a subset of the population that excludes minors and adults who aren't registered to vote.
All in all, while the statistic comes from a real survey, it is frequently shared without the context that respondents were registered voters rather than the U.S. population as a whole.
The Morning Consult poll was not the first study to test Americans' geographic knowledge of Iran. For instance, a 2006 National Geographic Society-Roper survey of Americans ages 18 to 24 found that 26% could locate Iran on a map of the Middle East.
In mid-2025, we investigated the claim that a survey found 47% of Republican voters would still support U.S. President Donald Trump even if he were officially implicated in the late financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes.
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