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Population Trivia

Can you answer these questions related to population statistics?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: November 19, 2023
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First submittedDecember 9, 2017
Times taken24,196
Average score60.0%
Rating4.34
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Question
Answer
What country passed China in 2023 to have the world's largest population?
India
What is the northernmost city with a metro population over 10 million?
Moscow
What country had over 20 sheep for every person in the 1970s but now only
has about 5 sheep per person?
New Zealand
What was the world's most populous city in the year 1 AD?
Rome
What is the most densely populated island in the U.S.?
Manhattan
What river has over 500 million people living in its watershed?
Ganges / Brahmaputra
What island has a population of around 6.6 million - lower than it was in the 1840s?
Ireland
What was the third most populous country in the 1980s?
Soviet Union
What is the world's most densely populated country?
Monaco
What is the world's least densely populated country?
Mongolia
What is the least densely populated U.S. state?
Alaska
What suburb of Tokyo has over 3.7 million people?
Yokohama
What U.S. city has lost over 1.2 million residents since 1950?
Detroit
What country's population has decreased by over 15 million people since 1993?
Ukraine
What is the world's most populous island? (hint: coffee)
Java
What country has about 9.5 million residents, but only 1.1 million citizens?
United Arab Emirates
What country has the world's largest Muslim population?
Indonesia
What is the most populous city in Indochina?
Bangkok
What city in South America had a population of 0 in 1950, but has over 3 million today?
Brasília
What is the easternmost city with a metro population over 1 million?
Auckland
+18
Level 60
Dec 9, 2017
For the final question, perhaps mention that "easternmost" is relative to the Prime Meridian.
+11
Level 62
Dec 11, 2017
Actually I believe it's easternmost relative to the international date line rather than the prime meridian.
+18
Level 82
Mar 23, 2018
It's easternmost relative to both. But why would that even need to be specified? If you understand what easternmost means, then the answer is correct regardless of what reference point you're using.
+11
Level 88
Mar 23, 2018
I think it would help people like me if it were specified. As it happens, I did not understand what easternmost meant in this context, and I am obviously not the only one.
+4
Level 86
Mar 23, 2018
And what else could that mean? If New Zealand is not easternmost, then what is? Hawaii?
+9
Level 82
Mar 23, 2018
You guys don't make any sense. It's like saying... what's the largest state in the USA?

What do you mean? Largest relative to Delaware? Or largest relative to Virginia?

It doesn't matter... largest is largest...

+24
Level 62
Mar 23, 2018
The problem is that Auckland is only easternmost on certain maps. If you are using a globe, there is no such thing as eastern most. Every city has a city east of it. Hawaii is east of New Zealand. Mexico is east of Hawaii. Egypt is east of Mexico. Thailand is east of Egypt. Auckland is east of Thailand, and it goes on forever.
+9
Level 76
Mar 26, 2018
There's no such thing as Easternmost on a globe, because you can always go further east.
+8
Level 82
Mar 27, 2018
Which popular internationally recognized map are you using that has the easternmost edge somewhere other than the international date line? Oh? There is no such map? You're just being pedantic prats? Oh, alright then. Proceed.
+5
Level 73
Jan 27, 2024
I don't know what's the qualification for 'popular internationally recognised', but a few pacific-centred World maps could be example. Commonly in use in East Asia and showing that somewhere other than New Zealand can be easternmost on maps, though the centrepoint line may be arbitrary. (But again, how subjective was the prime meridian to begin with anyways).

While I do agree with the premise that East relative to the Prime Meridian is the commonly accepted East, a little addition can't hurt.

Wow only after writing the reply I realised I was adding a comment on a 6-year old thread

+11
Level 73
Mar 29, 2018
Kal this is ONE time that I have to disagree with you. A map of any kind is only a flat, one dimensional representation of the earth with a beginning and an end. Since the earth is a sphere, you can always go farther east unless there is a predetermined point at which you are no longer going in an easterly direction. Your argument about the largest US state is sort of unrelated because you are talking about a particular set of things with a known, limited number - 50 and because they are all of a different size they can be arranged from smallest to largest the only requirement for that to be done is that each state must be larger than the one before it. On the planet earth what has been determined to be the point at which east ends and west begins? I'm not saying that you are wrong. I'm just pointing out that there is more than one way to look at it - determined by what data and information you have to work with.
+1
Level 82
Mar 31, 2018
I understand what a sphere is. But again, show me a representation of Earth with an easternmost edge (the only representations that would be relevant to the discussion, so globes are immediately disqualified), that is widely produced and popularly used around the world, where the easternmost edge is something other than the International Date Line.
+3
Level 74
Jan 3, 2020
With the globe argument, I'd ask how do you determine your position on the globe? My guess is you'd use longitude and lattitude coordinates, which do contain east and west references. :)
+4
Level 73
Mar 31, 2018
I'm not talking about a globe or a map or a representation of any kind. I'm talking about the earth. The question only asks what is the easternmost city. All I'm saying is that without something to measure easternmost from there is no end to east or west. If you are in Auckland and you sail into the sunrise, what direction are you going? It isn't like the North Pole where everything else is south of there - the Pole is a fixed point of reference. There is no natural law that dictates east and west.
+3
Level 74
Nov 23, 2018
Regardless, I don't understand what the drawback is of making the clue more specific, to help folks who may not grok the question.
+2
Level 63
Jan 27, 2024
Weird, I have never come across the word "grok" until today, and have now seen it twice in the space of 20mins, here in the comments, and also as an answer to a quiz on here!!
+1
Level 74
Jan 28, 2024
LOL same
+2
Level 75
Dec 9, 2017
The Ukraine is not the only country to see a decrease of over 6 million people. Sudan lost 12 million with the creation of South Sudan.
+10
Level ∞
Dec 10, 2017
The population of Sudan is much higher today than in 1993, even with the loss of South Sudan.
+8
Level 74
Mar 24, 2018
When taking the quiz, my thoughts were Sudan and Serbia due to loss of territory. I did some research to try to prove you wrong, but I think you are right.
+1
Level 59
Dec 10, 2017
Superb quiz, thanks!
+1
Level 23
Mar 23, 2018
Since when is the soviet union a country, as the name suggest it is a union of different countries
+11
Level 68
Mar 23, 2018
The Soviet Union was a sovereign state, much like how the UK is a sovereign state made up of countries.
+8
Level 44
Mar 23, 2018
USSR= United Soviet Socialist Republics.. I suppose tho you would then say that The United States of America are all separate right? so Ohio, is a different country than Indiana?
+14
Level 82
Mar 23, 2018
Since 1922
+26
Level 76
Mar 23, 2018
"What is the world's most populous island? (hint: coffee)"

I don't think that hint is needed to be honest

+8
Level 72
Mar 23, 2018
Agreed. There are much harder questions on this quiz that don't have a hint.
+4
Level 36
Mar 24, 2018
Seconded. Remove it, please.
+3
Level 66
Jan 27, 2024
This hint actually threw me off completely, I was thinking of Brazil and then Madagascar. Java has no relation to coffee for me, but I think it's a USA slang thing.
+1
Level 46
Jan 27, 2024
I think it's just because Java is a programming language and its logo is a cup of coffee but yeah it was misleading
+1
Level 60
Jan 27, 2024
Coffee is sometimes referred to as java because so much coffee was produced there historically.
+1
Level 39
Mar 23, 2018
Why has Detroit lost 1.1 million residents since 1950...is it murder rate or just extensive migration??
+5
Level 59
Mar 23, 2018
Because of the loss of jobs due to the decline of the automotive industry in the US.
+4
Level 78
Mar 23, 2018
Migration. There are a lot of murders, but not so many that it would have that much of an effect on population.
+2
Level 47
Mar 23, 2018
It's not as bad as it seems - they all just moved to the suburbs around it
+2
Level 82
Mar 31, 2018
People don't move because of crime. No US city is that bad. People move because of economic opportunity. It's all about jobs.
+1
Level 67
Jan 27, 2024
actually no there were 1.1 million murders that's why there's no one left :(
+1
Level 39
Mar 23, 2018
Java has more people than Australia?
+4
Level 74
Mar 23, 2018
Australia is technically a continent
+12
Level 78
Mar 23, 2018
And Java has about 6 times as many people as Australia
+8
Level 88
Mar 23, 2018
I had no idea what the frame of reference was supposed to be for that last question.
+3
Level 72
Mar 23, 2018
That would be common knowledge.
+6
Level 26
Mar 24, 2018
Right. Unlike north and south poles, there is no east/west barrier. You can go beyond the Int'l date line. That question makes no sense.
+2
Level 82
Oct 25, 2023
The frame of reference is defined by the global lines of longitude, agreed upon everywhere that I can think of. If you learned something new on this quiz, that's great! I don't see how you not knowing what East means is an argument for changing a perfectly valid question.
+1
Level 50
Jan 27, 2024
There is a line. It may be an artificial line but the line is present. Everybody knows it and it is the standard the world uses. Hawaii is not east of the phillipines. It is west but it is faster to go round the east
+1
Level 88
Jan 29, 2024
Taking the quiz again nearly six years later, I was able to get the correct answer to the question with only a brief pause to consider. Not sure why I had a hard time with it back in 2018, but at least I wasn't the only one.
+5
Level 67
Mar 23, 2018
Agreed on the last question being confusing.
+2
Level 63
Mar 23, 2018
i feel like there's nowhere near enough time for this quiz... at least add another minute perhaps?
+1
Level 53
Mar 24, 2018
I agree, I felt like it was a little tight for time.
+1
Level 47
Mar 23, 2018
Usually don't do that well on quizzes, but 100% on this one :)
+3
Level 26
Mar 24, 2018
Yokohama is not a part of Tokyo. It is its own city.
+5
Level 84
Feb 4, 2020
It says it is a suburb of Tokyo.
+1
Level 63
Feb 24, 2024
It is its own city AND it is part of Tokyo metropolitan area. To make it more clear, the question could be changed to "Which city that is part of Tokyo metropolitan area has 3.7 million people?"
+2
Level 65
Jul 18, 2020
Why Ukraine lost that much population?
+5
Level 68
Oct 27, 2022
many former USSR countries saw a collapse in their population due to 1) very low fertility rates and 2) decreasing living standarts, as economies were brutally liberalized, which 3) fueled emigration
+1
Level 67
Jan 27, 2024
among other things
+1
Level 34
Jan 8, 2024
Indochina is just Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia
+1
Level 67
Jan 27, 2024
Fun quiz, nice and varied.
+1
Level 55
Jan 27, 2024
Easternmost city in relation to what? To the international date line? Prime meridian? In NZ? In Africa? It needs a point of reference in order for it to make any sense. English language and geography basics 101.
+1
Level 80
Jan 27, 2024
Longitude.
+1
Level 55
Jan 27, 2024
Shouldn't Manhattan not count as an island? It's connected to the Bronx.
+3
Level 81
Jan 28, 2024
Manhattan is only connected to the Bronx by bridges and tunnels.