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How many Americans own passports?

Comments

• nick at 31 Jan 2003, 9:01pm. Permalink

  It'd be interesting to see how many of these passport-owners are newly naturalised American citizens, for whom getting a US passport is a natural step to ensure less hassle by the INS when travelling.

  Anyway, there's also the fact that it's harder as an American to travel to Canada and Mexico without one: the old 'drivers' license only' rule is increasingly being tightened, so that you need a birth certificate or some other concrete proof.

  Add on the fact that the US is big enough for you to travel domestically for a lifetime and still think a) you've seen a hell of a lot of world; and b) you've still a lot of world to see.

• Richard Hyett at 31 Jan 2003, 9:40pm. 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. It was fairly obvious that the girl had only been to manhatten once or twice in her life and she probably didn't live very far away.

  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.

  I don't think they are any more or less insular than we (English) are. They do have trouble understanding people without cars.
  

• Phil at 31 Jan 2003, 10:34pm. Permalink

  I didn't mean to imply any criticism of Americans for having few passports; I was just curious as to what the correct figure was.

  I'm certainly in no position to criticise them for rarely leaving their country when most of my holidays over the past ten years have been to the US!

• Danny O'Brien at 31 Jan 2003, 10:56pm. Permalink

  Quinn pointed out that there's been an increase in requirements for ID in the last ten years, and that may contribute to the spike.

  I wonder if there are any statistics on the number of Americans travelling abroad each year?
  

• Laura Brown at 1 Feb 2003, 1:05pm. Permalink

  This is astonishing! I was just thinking about the passport statistic this morning (I'm an American living in the UK, so I hear Brits jeering about this fairly frequently), and was wondering if there was any way to verify it. In fact, I thought maybe I would put an essay on the Web about it. Then I clicked Mr Gyford's link on the Pepys page, and there it was!

  Richard Hyett and Nick have made excellent points about why Americans don't travel abroad more often. 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.) Therefore, unlike Americans, the British do not quite regard travel within their own country as being “real” travel.

  I guess what I'm trying to say is that both cultures are equally ignorant! Seriously, having lived in both countries, I find that the ratio of smart people to stupid people, sophisticated people to unsophisticated people, etc., is pretty much the same. I suspect this would hold true in just about any country. Not very interesting, but there you are.

• ted at 3 Feb 2003, 7:59am. Permalink

  One other reason for the increase would be the upswing in the economy after 1992 (the beginning of the Clinton years). What happens now is anyone's guess.

  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…

• ted at 3 Feb 2003, 8:05am. Permalink

  Back again. Phil, using his A-Level maths to full effect is pretty close. I just now found this statistic:
  http://www.travelbritain.org/newhome/traveltrade/Marketingops/marketintel.htm

  The current US passport population stands at 18% of US adults. Source : European Travel Commission. Recent research indicating that Britain is the most popular overseas destination (excluding Canada & Mexico) for US residents. Source: Travel Industry World Yearbook 2000. The top cities for passport ownership are: New York, 38%; San Francisco, 37%; Miami/Fort Lauderdale, 33%; West Palm Beach, 31%; San Diego, 29%; Los Angeles, 27%; Washington DC, 27%. Source: US Office of Central Statistics
  

• Phil at 3 Feb 2003, 8:55am. Permalink

  Excellent, well done on finding the statistic Ted! Nice to know Mr Ward's maths teaching wasn't entirely in vain.

• Paul at 6 Feb 2003, 2:59am. 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 at 10 Feb 2003, 10:29pm. Permalink

  The average American urban dweller is subjected to 5000 advertisments per day.

  The average American household has the television on more than seven and a half hours a day.

  The average American urban dweller spends more of his life than ever before stuck in traffic, or working to pay for his car. It is estimated that the average car owner spends 1/6 of his waking hours either in transit or earning wages to support his vehicles(s).

  I guess they are all to busy in traffic, working to pay for their car, dealing with adverts and watching tv. It doesn't leave much time for passport applications.

• Phil at 11 Feb 2003, 12:16pm. 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 at 13 Feb 2003, 12:09am. Permalink

  From yesterday's Daily Telegraph:

  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/02/12/ngran12.xml

  “A grandmother who has lived in the same village for more than 50 years could be deported from Britain tomorrow because she is considered to be an American.

  “Mary Martin … was born in America to a British mother and came to live in Britain in 1949 when she was two.

  “It was only when her mother, June, died two years ago that she became aware that she did not have a birth certificate or a passport and decided to apply for them.

  “However, when she attempted to sort out the documentation the Home Office responded by telling her that it did not believe that she was a long-term resident and ordered her to leave the country within days. …

  “She added that she had never previously applied for a British passport because she had no desire to go abroad, nor had enough money to do so.”

  See? It's true! Those bloody Americans never get passports! :-)

  (I'm happy to say that the Home Office later reviewed its decision, and Mrs Martin will be able to stay in Britain. Oh, and by the way, I don't actually buy the Telegraph — it's just the only newspaper web site we can see at work, for some reason.)

  
  

• Glen Kendall at 15 Mar 2003, 12:04pm. 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. Here's what I wrote:

  Why Europeans Worry about the Americans

  [Long article deleted by Phil]

• Manda at 26 Mar 2003, 2:36pm. Permalink

  What I'd be more interested in learning is how the percentage of Americans with passports compares to citizens of other countries. I've never seen any statistics on that. Surely there are other countries that are just as bad about going abroad as we are, but the label 'American' often creates higher expectations.

• Michael McMahon at 2 Apr 2003, 4:53pm. 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.

  I don't have any statistics, but I suspect if you compare the number of Americans who travel outside the US, with the number of Europeans who travel outside Europe, you would get a very different picture. My experience anecdotally, is that wherever I have travelled in the world, I always saw plenty of Americans.

• Mike Gill at 14 Apr 2003, 11:16pm. Permalink

  I'd like to disagree with the last comment. I back-packed in over 9 countries in South America in 2001 and spent some time in Thailand in 2002, and I hardly ever saw Americans travelling (less in S.A. then Thailand, interestingly). In fact, Isrealis seemed to take the cake in both S.A. and Thailand. Surprising considering the distances and costs involved. And there were definitely more Brits, and even Canadians, in S.A. than Americans. Of course, I don't have any stats to back this up, just my own subjective view.

• Phil at 14 Apr 2003, 11:37pm. Permalink

  OK folks, from here on I'd like to restrict comments to statistics, rather than subjective experience and opinions. Thanks.

• Steve at 28 Apr 2003, 2:34am. Permalink

  Great research Phil.

  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.

  I don't know if there are any stats available to support or refute this claim.

• Tammie at 2 May 2003, 11:01am. 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 at 18 May 2003, 2:54am. 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 at 7 Jul 2003, 7:41pm. 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.

  Honestly, I think the entire issue is being inflated by those Americans who like to wear their passports like a Boy Scout Merit Badge (ie, Yes, I've been to Europe, I'm so much smarter and cultured than the rest of you.)

• Doug Stine at 20 Jul 2003, 3:56pm. Permalink

  All of these emails make good points. It's true that America is big and diverse so maybe there isn't the need to travel. But as diverse as it is, Americans seem to know little about the foreigners in their own country. It wasn't until I traveled extensively that I appreciated that the owner of my neighborhood liquor store was from Punjab, India, or that the owner of the Thai restaurant down the street was from Chiang Mai. 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 at 24 Jul 2003, 4:00am. Permalink

  I've figured out an amazing comparison between two countries, one of them is under a cruel dictatorship junta style government:

  Burma (Myanmar)- less than 10% of the population have passports. 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. The 'fatcats' of the nation dictate what policies should be adopted by the government. The government is guilty of the slaughter of innocent civilans.

  Sounds familiar? Thats because it is. Its identical to the USA.

• a not ugly american at 24 Aug 2003, 9:26pm. Permalink

  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 at 30 Aug 2003, 2:15pm. Permalink

  What a stupid comment. The only reason that fellow had to go through all the trouble of comparing the USA to Burma is because it isn't true.

  If it were so true (“familar” as he said), then Americans would not need to be told that it is true. They would know it.

  Point? His logic is flawed. The comparison is ridiculous and far from “familar.” It exists only in the mind of cynical Anti-American better-than-thou naysayers. I wonder if Jake is a hater of his own country, or a foreign snob. One thing is for sure, his attitude is bad.

• Daniel at 30 Aug 2003, 2:15pm. Permalink

  What a stupid comment. The only reason that fellow had to go through all the trouble of comparing the USA to Burma is because it isn't true.

  If it were so true (“familar” as he said), then Americans would not need to be told that it is true. They would know it.

  Point? His logic is flawed. The comparison is ridiculous and far from “familar.” It exists only in the mind of cynical Anti-American better-than-thou naysayers. 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 at 1 Sep 2003, 8:44am. 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. Here's a link to an article breaking out vacation days by country.

  http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/US/vacation_030625.html

  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 (!!!) of vacation here and is expected to take all of it. If he doesn't take all of it, the remaining days are banked and he receives extra vacation days the next year as “interest” on the days he couldn't take. I worked at some very large financial institutions in New York, where you received a “generous” 3-4 weeks of vacation, but you rarely had the chance to take it, and occasionally, were asked to forgo a planned vacation because of a last minute project. In general, attitudes toward taking vacation seem to be very different in Europe.

  Thanks for all the information!

• Keith at 5 Sep 2003, 5:47pm. 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 at 9 Sep 2003, 3:13am. Permalink

  Does anyone know what the percentage is for how many Canadians hold passports. Just wondering since I heard a Canadian shooting off his mouth tonight saying that only 8% (Which is obviously wrong) of Americans hold passports in a very condescending manner. 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. I'm just sick of the Canadian attitude and their stupid maple leaf patches they insist on wearing on their backpacks when they travel.

• Kathy at 9 Sep 2003, 3:27am. Permalink

  Well the closest thing I could find was that 1.7 million passports are issued in Canada every year. 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) at 15 Sep 2003, 10:40am. Permalink

  This goes back aways to Steve's comment suggesting that most US passport holders are military or diplomats. 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.r.t. the actual percentage of passport ownership, I think it should be pointed out that most Americans can't afford international travel (excluding Mexico, Canada and the Carribean) and many can only afford one or two trips in their lifetime. So, even if they get one for that trip, it only lasts ten years so most Americans don't need a passport more than a handful of times in their life. 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.C. for history, and New York for culture, why would you ever go anywhere else? North America has every climate known to man and a wide variety of culture, cuisine and lifestyles. A lifetime isn't enough to see everything.

• Boo at 25 Sep 2003, 4:57pm. Permalink

  I'd like to know what percentage of the USA's elected officials hold a passport.
  I once heard that it was less than 50%.
  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 at 26 Sep 2003, 3:36pm. Permalink

  Boo, I don't understand your point or your problem with Canada? 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 at 8 Oct 2003, 12:45am. 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. Understandably so. 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. We're dealt a hand and we kind of have to accept it. American's always will be the loud outgoing bombastic group in the world, making decisions for people on the other side of the world that they have no personal attachment to or concern for beyond what they see on their television or hear on the news… they've just taken over the role the European imperialists had during the colonial era.

  *See the south-sea bubble fiasco, the opium wars fought with China, slave trade in west central Africa, Boer War in South Africa, creation of a zionist state in Palestine after World War One, etc. if you want a brief recap of how powerful insulated nations decide things for countries - which they have nothing but money invested in - that lie on opposite sides of the globe.

  I would be extremely surprised if you found that the US WASN'T in a range of travellers similar to that of Burma, or other 3rd world nations, solely because the number of reasons to travel in both places is minimal. 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.

• barb at 17 Oct 2003, 3:13pm. Permalink

  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.
  Any more than that and they change channels, and of course it's all about the ratings…

  if that were true,
  it would explain a lot, a lot, a lot.

• Keith at 5 Nov 2003, 2:07pm. 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. 71% of the people questioned have in the past 12 months been out of Holland. Belgium was 2nd with 68%. People in France, Italy and Spain traveled the least with only 1 in 5 leaving the country in the past 12 months.

  This seems to show that the size of a country does have an impact on travel.

• John Danenbarger at 28 Nov 2003, 12:58pm. 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 at 19 Dec 2003, 5:18am. Permalink

  I heard the thing about American passport ownership for the first time yesterday (in Sydney, Australia I might add). I was rather suspicious, so I'm pleased to have found this very illuminating discussion!

  However, back in September Keith insinuated that Australians have lower levels of passport ownership than Americans. Not likely!
  
  According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au), in the financial year 2000-2001, 1.088 million Australians were issued with passports. This number represented 5.7% of the total population (which was 18.97 million in 2001). Using Phil's formula, this figure extrapolates to just over 50% of Australians owning a passport. Furthermore, in the year 2000-01, 18.9% of Australians travelled overseas (which is pretty close to the total percentage of Americans who own passports).

  Aussies are like Americans in that we have a HUGE and diverse country of our own to explore; and travelling to other countries is expensive due to distance (keeping in mind that we haven't got a single neighbour who we can visit via land). But STILL we travel. And, I have to add, travelling in foreign lands has been a life-changing experience for me.

• JC at 4 Jan 2004, 8:46pm. Permalink

  Because of my job in the military (US)I have a blue, brown, and black passport. I've lived overseas in 4 different countries and worked in20 others. When I'm done with my time in the military I never want to travel to any other country but the USA. I've been forced to travel to all but one continent, forced to learn fluency in 1 language (German) and 5 other (conversational) languages. You can have the rest of the world. Linda Ronstadt had it right…..” I'm so glad I'm livin in the USA!!” Its only until you've lived and traveled outside of the US that you truly understand that we are the greatest nation on this planet.

• Richard at 15 Jan 2004, 6:39am. Permalink

  Can anyone tell me what proportion of US passport holders are non-native Americans?
  I understand that 18% of Americans were born outside of the US. My guess would would be they're a lot more likely to have passports than native born Americans. If less than 20% of all Americans have passports the implication would be if all non natives had a passport less than 2% of native Americans would have a passport. For what its worth all of the non native Americans I know do have passports but I'd like to hear from someone who had a bigger sample than my buddies.

• Phil at 25 Feb 2004, 12:19pm. Permalink

  A quick note for future commenters: Please avoid anecdotal speculation. “I've only ever seen one American tourist in my country and they were loud and obnoxious” doesn't further the discussion in any way. Thanks!

• Karl at 26 Feb 2004, 4:38am. 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?

• mark at 10 Mar 2004, 9:14am. Permalink

  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. The Gap Year which is primarily composed of New Zealanders, Australians, and the British, is an “accepted” institution. From what I understand it is not looked down upon to take a year off to travel. In the states it is different….not better or worse…just 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. If you are really interested in this area, take a look at the tourism research that has/is being conducted. 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 at 27 Mar 2004, 3:34pm. Permalink

  I think before many people jump to conclusions, there is something everyone should consider: that is how many people in countries outside the United States own passwords. Even if you limit the examination to developed countries I'd think you would find the statistics are similar to the United States. Everyone is parochial, not just Americans. Europeans might disasgree and say they have a high percentage of people with passports, but this hardly counts and many of these people havn't been outside Europe.

  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. This the most powerful country in the world and is scares the hell out of me that the vast majority of its leaders havn't even seen it.

• brian bibi at 29 Mar 2004, 9:46pm. Permalink

  ok, so lots of things are true about american travel abroad: its HARD to get off the continent because holidays given are so short; debt caused from HAVING to buy that new car and that NEEDED new phone that links up to the internet, but… WHY do americans have so few passports and WHY dont they ever get them?

  WHY we have such few passports is the monumental flaw of our society. it all comes down to the fact that we think, WHY TRAVEL ANYWHERE ELSE? AMERICA HAS EVERYTHING. so we dont leave our entire lives. this is flawed perspective that should be changed first and foremost. by learning about other cultures and countries they exist in, we can gain an importance about how great america can really be and the feeling you get when you come home after a long trip overseas and see the american flag waving free… theres nothing like it.

  but were looking for stats… if there is a stat that says how many europeans leave their CONTINENT not their countries, then youd have an equal comparison to the number of americans traveling OUTSIDE the N.American continent. samesame. no dfiferent. and as the smart aussie Samantha said on 19Dec03, thats NO EXCUSE why americans dont travel outside america. OZ is almost as big in comparison. plain and simple truth. damn shame i think. ive been forever changed by the 5continent journey ive taken thus far and im not stoping there. let the stats commence!

  a great man once told me… “travel is the best education.” we all should b so lucky to experience something other than our own culture at least once in our lives. de program.

• christine at 30 Mar 2004, 1:17pm. Permalink

  I can't believe people actually care about who has a passport or not. My reason for looking at this site was by pure accident. Let me guess, you're all about 28-31 years old and you've done a bit of travelling, perhaps even lived somewhere else and now you're working in a job that seems like a really hip place to work, but you're getting paid shite and therefore have to share a flat with others. You must be experts on why Americans don't leave their own country because you've 'been out'…hhmmm, your comments are bit of a generalisation and sound quite arrogant and pedantic. You must be English.

• Phil at 30 Mar 2004, 2:04pm. Permalink

  I can't speak for those who have posted comments here, but as for me… you're wrong on almost every count apart from the last one.

  I'm not entirely sure why you feel being rude on someone's web site makes you superior to those who use it to discuss something they find interesting.

  Now, back to the matter at hand…

• chuck at 12 Apr 2004, 1:44pm. Permalink

  Interesting site. I came here like others looking for %-age of Americans with passports. All I know so far is that the number is low (when I find out, I'll come back).

  Many good reasons have been posted here already why Americans don't travel. Let me give some why they don't need to (I have been living abroad for 10 years myself).

  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 :-)), Sierra Leone, Iran and many other countries.

  Many cities have their “Chinatown”, “Little Italy” among other ethnic neighborhoods. Ethnic restaurants are all over the place - not only big cities. I lived in a small town in Kentucky in the '70s and we still had real Chinese running the Chinese restaurants.

  When I lived in Florida we often went to the Italian and German markets to get the imported stuff you couldn't find in a regualr supermarket.

  Another old girlfriend had spent a summer studying in Italy so I took her to the Italian restaurant in Disney World. I told her she'd love it because everything was from Italy - the food, chefs, waiters, decor - everything. She was very skeptical. By the time she got to the cappuccino, she was crying her eyes out because it was “just like Italy”.

  Of course, travelling abroad is better but if the money/time/whatever isn't there, the average American still has plenty of opportunities to learn about other cultures right at home.

• Phil at 12 Apr 2004, 9:49pm. Permalink

  OK folks, enough of the reasons why people in country x would or wouldn't want to leave their country. It's getting boring.

  Please only post a new comment if you have hard figures (with references) about the percentage of people in a country who own passports. Thanks.

• Renee at 13 May 2004, 12:22pm. Permalink

  I am curious about the ethnic breakdown of passport holders. Does anyone have any stats on how many African Americans own passports? I'm writing a paper for school and this would be very helpful. Please include the basis for your comment or where I can locate the stats. Thanks!

• Nicolas Nierenberg at 27 Jun 2004, 1:30am. Permalink

  The statistic can be found in a single web search. While it probably isn't exact it seems that the percentage of Americans who hold a current passport is in the mid twenties, and the number who have ever had one is around forty percent. My guess is that it isn't that different than other countries considering many of the factors that have been discussed here.

  http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.asp?newid=16764&subcategory_id=77

• Jason Kenney at 6 Jul 2004, 7:38am. Permalink

  My apologies in advance for this not being related to passport percentages directly, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand (http://www.tourismthailand.org/home.php) keeps statistics for visitors by country which can be pulled up going back to 1998. I pulled up all of 2003 to get an idea of the numbers (data is in the form of a downloaded Excel spreadsheet, or I'd link directly). As the focus here seems to be on North America, Europe, and Australia, I'll list some of the largest numbers from countries on those continents:

  UK—736,520,
  USA—514,863,
  Germany—386,532,
  Australia—291,872,
  France—237,690,
  Sweden—204,002,
  Netherlands—138,839,
  Canada—137,963,
  Switzerland—107,896.

  You can normalize by each country's population if you feel slighted by these numbers ;) Note that these numbers surely include some individuals being counted multiple times, but with such large numbers of individuals, it's probably a wash if you're wanting to compare countries.

• Selucus at 19 Jul 2004, 11:43am. Permalink

  This is a ctrl-c from another site but has some stats in that people seem to be asking…

  link: http://www.nakedtranslations.com/en/2004/04/000130.php

  concerning the passport issue… what is the average percentage of passport holders in the UK, France, etc?”

  I found 2 apparently reliable sources, one of which claims 7% of the US population has a passport. This rises to 12% of the US Senate. The second source claims that the 7% figure is 10 years old, and that it is now 17%. As 18% of Americans were not born in the US, it may be that the majority of passort holders are immigrants enjoying the chance to prove their status?

  In the UK in 2001, 5.6 million people (almost 10% of the population) either applied for or renewed their UK passport, suggesting that the vast majority of us are passport holders.

  In Australia, over 50% are passport holders, and 19% do travel abroad each year. In Belguim, this rises to 70% passport holders. Apparently the Dutch are the biggest European travellers, with 71% of the population having travelled outside the country in the last year.

• David at 1 Aug 2004, 6:00am. 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 at 12 Aug 2004, 5:37pm. Permalink

  Hi.
  First to David. Yes, all US citizens travelling abroad to places requiring passports need passports—including military. There are different styles issued for diplomats, military etc. however. Still, they're in the statistics.

  I'm an American (who grew up as a military dependent by the way and love to travel) and work in Sweden as an inward investment director—meaning that I'd sure love to see more Americans consider doing business here! Sure I love the US (quite a patriot in fact), but after all my years of transiency, I really feel very much a part of this side of the world too. The only barriers are time and language for most of us, but a couple of languages isn't too hard to master. Anyway, flights to Stockholm are only about 400 round trip from Chicago—non stop—8 hours. And today it is 85 degrees and sunny. Check it out!

• Karl at 17 Aug 2004, 1:54pm. Permalink

  An interesting statistic from yesterday's Zoby poll:

• Paz at 1 Sep 2004, 10:24pm. 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? I suspect it to be <25% Republican, but I would like to know for sure…

• Dan at 1 Sep 2004, 11:34pm. Permalink

  Looks like the answer is here at 21%

  http://www.travelagentcentral.com/travelagentcentral/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=75568

  Record Number of Americans Request Passports
  
  Nov 11, 2003
  Travel Agent
  
  The U.S. State Department issued a record 7,300,667 passports in fiscal year 2003, which ended Sept. 30, including first-time passports and renewals. The record followed two years of declining passport numbers, according to the department

• mark at 14 Sep 2004, 11:24pm. Permalink

  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 1000 dollars, has very few passport owners. I don't know any statistics about it, but I think the percentage of Chinses citizens owning a passport is below 1 %.

• Michele at 17 Sep 2004, 12:43pm. 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. I'm not being snobby, nor do I share the “my-country-is-bigger-than-your country” attitude, but a person has to realise that the sheer size of the US sometimes makes travel to other countries seem silly. 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. I'm not isolationist, and I have lived abroad in in four countries (currently Scotland), but the fact that a small number of US citizens holds passports, doesn't really mean very much.

• Liz at 27 Sep 2004, 12:42am. Permalink

  This debate on the relative number of persons holding passports seems to have its roots in the 2000 United States presidential election, when GWB's inability to accurately name various locales became a topic of discussion in the blogosphere, with a tag of “well, what do you expect from a country where only X percent of the population has ever had a passport?” (the X varies quite a bit and never cited a source that could be verified.) I finally found some numbers,

  http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html

  then found this site.

  I live in California. Our closest national neighbor is Mexico. Until recently, one didn't need a passport to travel to Mexico. Prior to 9/11/01, I do not recall taking passport to 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: calculate travel time to an international air port. For example, from the central coast of California one must drive 4 to 5 hours to reach an international airport (Los Angeles or San Francisco/San Jose). There's very little public transport available (unlike the UK, for example) so it is car or nothing. This part of the journey isn't a free good, either….if you take a airport bus or limo, it is usually less than parking the car at the airport. 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. I'd venture to say that more of the population lives closer to international airports, and that there are relatively fewer tourism draws within Australia than the United States.
  

• Jessica at 4 Oct 2004, 2:05pm. Permalink

  The 18% foreign born claim is inaccurate and misleading:

  According to the 2000 census, 31 million out of a population of 281 million are foreign born. (that's 11% *not* 18%) Of the 31 million, only 12.5 million are actually citizens, and only citizens are allowed to apply for a passport. (It should be remembered that one does not have to be a citizen to be counted in the official population in the U.S.) That's 4.4% of the population which is foreign born *and* eligible for a passport. Even if you take the non-citizen foreign born out of the count and only consider the foreign born citizens as a percentage of the whole citizen population, that's still only about 4.8% of American citizens who are foreign born, according to the 2000 census - a far cry from the 18% that previous posts argue.

  You can double check the stats here:

  www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-34.pdf

• Tamar Kirschner at 13 Oct 2004, 10:05pm. Permalink

  I met an Englishman in Greece who kept telling me that fewer than 20% of Americans own passports. I was fairly certain this couldn't be true and that it was just more of the “Americans are mostly all dolts” attitude that some Europeans have. I set out to research this and I can only find evidence to corroborate his claim. Yikes. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I can't think of very many people I know who don't own passports. I forget about how different the rest of the country can be.

• Phillip Martin at 17 Oct 2004, 5:27am. Permalink

  I think that Americans don't travel much because they are terrified of travelling outside their borders. They might have their food spat on or be beheaded. I don't know. I was born in Texas and have lived in several states in different parts of the country and have travelled to several continents. There seems to be some psychological fear that the US international border is this 'great other', like some terra incognita, where this USA cultural reality is utterly changed once you cross over. 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. This is very general, but Americans don't feel the need to travel to China when they have a Chinatown. They don't have the need to go to Oaxaca when there is a Taco Bell up the road. 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. They don't understand that the immigrants in this country are a tiny minority who miraculously got a visa to live and work here or who crossed the border illegally. In the US, the general encompassing culture preaches that we are the best in the world, and that no one else really matters. The federal government should give everyone passports with the same ease that you get a driver's license. With a passport, those Americans that don't travel might think “well now since i got one of these, i might as well make that trip to Paris and find out how those cheese eating surrender monkeys really are in person.”

• Phil at 17 Oct 2004, 10:46am. Permalink

  OK, I've long since given up hoping that people will stop posting wild generalisations, and only post hard facts. So enjoy yourselves, slag off every nationality you can think of. If you have some interesting hard facts then just email me and I'll put them in the main body of the entry.

• Charles Hartman at 1 Nov 2004, 1:53pm. Permalink

  I'm fascinated by how *much* discussion there is here — as telling, in its way, as the question itself. 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. Given some of the complications of the travel question cited in posts here, wouldn't the latter statistic (it hovers around 50%) be more useful for those seeking an index of American ignorance? Of course we'd want world comparative data on that question too …

• Phil at 1 Nov 2004, 2:20pm. 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 at 3 Nov 2004, 9:50am. Permalink

  Does anyone know if it is true, as stated in one of the USA's satirical magazines, that when elected in 2000, George W Bush did not possess a current US passport?

• Mike at 4 Nov 2004, 11:47am. Permalink

  Hi Phil. Thanks for the stats, very interesting. I'm originally from New Zealand (but used my passport to get e to London) and got to thinking how many NZ passports were issued as a comparison.

  Statistics on how many are issued are available in the Dept. of Internal Affairs annual reports (available at www.passport.gov.nz), and after a bit of a hunt I got the following figures - a couple of them extrapolated:

  2003/04 390419
  2002/03 315763
  2001/02 318000 (to nearest '000)
  2000/01 341073
  1999/00 337424
  1998/99 331500
  1997/98 320000 (guess)
  1996/97 308271
  1995/96 274265
  1994/95 270000 (guess)

  This gives a total of 3,206,715 passports. The Department of Statistics estimates the current population of NZ at 4,077,244, which using your math above means 78.6% of New Zealanders hold a passport. Bit of a contrast with the US there.

• Mike at 4 Nov 2004, 12:23pm. Permalink

  While we're at it, I dug some stats off the UK passport agency site - www.ukpa.gov.uk. These are a bit rougher:

  2003/04 - 5.9m
  2002/03 - 5.1m
  2001/02 - 5.0m (guess)
  2000/01 - 5.0m (guess)
  1999/00 - 4.9m (guess)
  1998/09 - 4.8m (approximation from graph)
  1997/08 - 4.9m (approximation from graph)
  1996/07 - 5.1m (approximation from graph)
  1995/06 - 4.7m (approximation from graph)
  1994/05 - 4.0m (approximation from graph)

  Total is roughly 49.8m passports issued in the last 10 years, and the total UK population is estimated at 59.6m, which using the same method by which Phil arrived at his 20% figure, gives 83.5% of the UK population having a passport.

  Obviously a few of these are names changes, replacing lost passports etc, but then that applies to any country. Also NZ and UK citizens can have dual passports, whereas I believe US doesn't allow that. Either way this number is a lot higher than I thought it would be.

• Bradley B at 14 Nov 2004, 9:01am. Permalink

  Cultural education is something that is not taught in schools. Background: 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 half), and 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 at 15 Nov 2004, 6:31am. Permalink

  Very informative thread. I live in LA and had no idea one could visit Mexico without a passport! In fact, we were lectured sternly at the Canadian border for NOT having a passport for our then 3-year old daughter, “This IS a separate country, you know!”

  I did the search that led me here because I was “informed” several times this summer by apparently reasonable Brits that “only 5% of Americans have passports” which I found impossibly low. I can however believe 18% - there are a lot of people here for whom spending $3000+ to vacation far away instead of nearby is not a priority!

• American with 72-page passport at 21 Nov 2004, 11:09am. 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:
  ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
  ARUBA
  BAHAMAS
  BERMUDA
  CANADA
  COSTA RICA
  DOMINICA
  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
  GRENADA
  JAMAICA
  MEXICO
  MICRONESIA
  NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
  PALAU
  PANAMA
  SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
  SAINT LUCIA
  ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON
  SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
  BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
  BRITISH WEST INDIES
  FRENCH WEST INDIES

• Colin at 22 Nov 2004, 4:27am. Permalink

  As a Brit living in Canada for the past 35 years, and no it is not the “Frozen North”, I live in a semi desert area and our two Countries are only seperated by a thin line.
  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.W. Bush from people wishing to leave the U.S.A.
  By the way, before you get too angry can you name, without peeking, the Prime Minister of Canada I bet less than 5% of you can! and less than 1% the Deputy Prime Minister

• Mark at 23 Nov 2004, 7:33pm. Permalink

  I'm an American from one of those dreaded red states (believe it or not). :-D

  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. Leaving is easy; it's getting back in that's hard.

  We have a new daughter now and we applied for her passport during lunch today. People at work ask me where we're going and why we need passports. First, I tell them that our next significant trip abroad is the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Second, I tell them that you should always keep a passport because you never know when you're going to do something stupid and have to flee the country on short notice. ;-)

  Speaking of red states, I'd like to see the breakdown of passport holders by state.

• tom at 28 Nov 2004, 3:40pm. Permalink

  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. My Friend is flying in from Germany and she paid $550.00 for a direct flight, to Florida during the high season. I would pay at least a $1000,00.
  We have a very large rich-poor gap between the people here, they don't have the money to be travelling around the globe. 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.
  Milk for instance is around $4.00 per gallon, in Germany is it $2.20.
  Free Educations, Free Medical and welfare benefits.
  The Eurodollar is worth 34 cents more then the American dollar, they have more buying power.
  In 1969 Americans travelled more then any other nation, fast forward to the present, we are not near the top.
  Why? Because we are no longer a production economy, Europe is more industrialized then America and Japan also has more industry with China coming fast.
  Europes UnEmployment to Work ratio, meaning 18 to 65 years of age workers, working is actually slighly higher then America's at 64% verses 61%. A much better gauge then unemployment benefits which after 6 months ends and your no longer counted as unemployed.
  We have a 650 billion dollar trade debt per year and rising. Federal Debts of at least 650 billion per year counting the raids on our retirement trust funds which they try to hide.
  Mostly borrowed from Europe, Japan and China.
  Are we the richest?
  With 70 to 80 trillion dollars in total debt, I do not think so.
  For each dollar of profit produced in the American economy(2003) we are producing six dollars in debt.
  We are mostly a service economy based on low wages with a dwindling manufacturing and production economy.
  As far as scientific journals go, Europe and Asia have passed us during the mid 1990's.
  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 at 1 Dec 2004, 12:58am. Permalink

  You folks from other 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 proud Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians. You guys really are superior to us Americans. Congratulations!

• gearedup at 9 Dec 2004, 10:05pm. Permalink

  even better I would like to see the number of people in congress (US) that have a passport or have traveled out of the united states — these are the people making up foreign policy, it would be scary if they had never left the US.

• Marcus Baker at 25 Dec 2004, 2:31am. Permalink

  Hi.

  Great topic. Some possible skews in the stats. mentioned…

  In the UK you need a passport to start travelling Europe, whereas within Europe border checks are almost non-existent. Add to this booze cruises to France, high GDP and cheap Spanish holidays to escape the rain, and it's no surprise the UK usually tops the list for passport holders (I am still trying to find relative stats, but I've read this several years ago).

  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 lot of people passing through, so I think some of the attitude rubs off too. To travel is the cultural norm.

  Another skew. For Europeans in general, applying for driver's licences and other documents usually involves either a passport or a birth certificate. I had a passport a good year before I did any travelling simply because it's a convenient form of ID.

  I'd also love to see a breakdown between rich and poor, both within countries and around the world. People only travel if they have the money.

  yours, Marcus

• Karen at 26 Dec 2004, 12:07am. Permalink

  I'm an American currently living in Moscow. When I was in the US I did not travel abroad for vactions for the above mentioned reasons: cost and lack of vaction time. 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 at 27 Dec 2004, 1:09pm. Permalink

  Don't you folks have anything better to do than obsess about whether we Americans own passports? I'm an American living abroad and I just happened upon this site. Get a life!

  Ni

• david robinson at 4 Jan 2005, 4:29pm. Permalink

  I'm amazed at all the abusive people on this site, and feel sorry for the administrator who frequently asks for constructive discussion upon the statistics yet people igmore him. I stumbled across this site after reading michael moores book 'Dude, Wheres my country?' which contains the statistic of 92% of americans not owning a passport and thought this not possible.

  I'm amazed stats like this aren't released by governments every few years. Surely the passport agencies know exactly how many people have valid passports? Or am I being too nieve?

• AR at 10 Jan 2005, 11:36pm. 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?

  In the UK, a non-citizen (but legal resident) only needs to live in the UK for something like 5 years before applying for citizenship/UK passport and the application process is supposedly quite easy. Many expats cite this as a perk for living in the UK for 5+ years: UK passport = EU citizenship = work privileges w/o need for work visa!

  In the US, the barriers to obtaining citizenship is supposedly not as easy.

  Also, does anyone know if there is a correlation between the lack of national ids and number of passport holders?

• Isaiah at 12 Jan 2005, 9:20am. Permalink

  I'm an American and just got back from 3 weeks in South America. It was almost annoying how nearly every chat with a fellow traveler led to this mysteriously low stat of US passport holders. (A range of 7% to 15% was what was quoted to me most often). 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 here (size of N. America, limited vacation, costs). And so my search for stats led me here, and I want to Thank everyone's research and input to give me a confident empirical # around 20%.
  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 at 18 Jan 2005, 2:48am. Permalink

  I have been to Britain 6 times and routinely met people who had never even been North of Manchester… or who still made snide and ignorant comments about the Welsh… One of the first places I went was Shetland, and on the mainland, everyone I met acted like I was crazy to go “way up there”. I'm sorry but ignorance comes in all forms and passport ownership—or lack thereof— isn't an accurate yardstick by which it should be measured. 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. Here, you drive for days and days and days and DAYS and you're still in America. Give us a break! It's expensive to get off this continent. I just shelled out over $3000 to go to Africa. Do you have any idea how long it took me to save that? An American is LUCKY to get two weeks vacation a year— and I've worked in plenty of places that did not offer any paid vacation benefits at all. Also, remember that a lot of Americans choose to go to Mexico and Canada for trips— which don't require passports. And finally, what's wrong with people staying home? I wouldn't enjoy it- but if someone is truly happy siting on the porch reading the paper, then more power to him! It seems like we love to go places and observe “native cultures” and “traditional life” and we love seeing people and animals in their “natural habitat” …but we look down on those around us who are doing that very thing!

• Victoria at 19 Jan 2005, 4:39am. Permalink

  A very informative website, and quite shocking really, since all of my family and 98% of my friends are passport holders and have either lived or traveled extensively overseas. 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 stunning), but I had to modify and plan trips where the dollar will go a long way. Therefore it is Central America and Canada for me. Thanks to the moderator for supplying such an informative website and to the other posters who have enlightened me with their views.

• Christine at 19 Jan 2005, 3:42pm. Permalink

  I have been looking into this issue because I teach a US Politics class at a British university and am always dismayed at 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 in 2002, including 18.5 that travelled as tourists. 23 million is about 8% of the population,while 18.5 million is about 6.3%.See:
  http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0778210.html. 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.S. State Department, 15-16 million Americans visited Mexico in 2003. According to the Canadian government, U.S. citizens made over 15 million overnight trips and 20 million day trips to Canada in 2003 http://www.statcan.ca/. Although it is impossible to put these together with the overseas travel stats, I know that many members of my family in the U.S. have been to Canada but have never had a passport.

  I looked for that November 2003 newspaper article that was mentioned on European travel habits. It noted that “Seventy one percent of Dutch people, 62 percent of Belgians, 61 percent of Germans and 54 percent of Britons travelled abroad over the last year, compared to only 33 percent of the French, 28 percent of Italians and 20 percent of Spaniards.”

  I am a somewhat skeptical about travel necessarily expanding one's understanding of international cultures. 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 at 19 Jan 2005, 10:11pm. 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 outside 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. ie I'm a New Zealander who has grown up wanting to learn about other countries and cultures and this is something that is encouraged in our country. 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. The same goes for Australia (in reply to Liz's comment). 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 holidays given is just as irrelevant. The majority of New Zealanders get 3 weeks holiday per year, Australians and the English get 4 weeks. A lot of the travel done by these countries is done on a long term basis ie. a working holiday or taking unpaid leave. 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 at 21 Jan 2005, 8:31am. Permalink

  Is the statistic that I have seen quoted but not substantiated that 50% of Americans live with 50 miles of their birthplace more or less correct or one of those 'facts' that is repeated so many times it becomes the truth?

• Accidental Visitor at 24 Jan 2005, 8:32pm. Permalink

  Here are some stats

  I just discovered this thread today and looked up some data on the web about American overseas travel (not necessarily Passport related). Here's what I found (note that they refer to residents, which may include permanent residents as well):

  Total International Travelers to and from the U.S. 1993-2003:
  http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/f-2003-05-001/index.html

  (In Summary - in 2003 there were 56,175,000 outbound travelers - 14,158,000 to Canada, 17,566,000 to Mexico, 24,452,000 overseas)

  And for those who wanted further breakdowns - here's the 2003 Profile of U.S. 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:

  http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/f-2003-101-001/index.html

  (In Summary - 80.9% traveled for Leisure/Friends/Relatives, 28.7% for Business/Convention. 9% First time visitors, 91% repeat visitors. Destination: Europe - 42%, Caribbean - 22%, South America - 8%, Central America - 7%, Africa - 2%, Middle East - 3%, Asia - 16%. Plenty of other stats)

  On a more personal note, I'm a permanent resident living in the US for 6 years. 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.

  There's a larger cultural issue, expressed here in some previous posts (we've got everything you could ever want), which I believe has a profound effect on the way Americans perceive the world. While in and of itself this attitude is valid and understandable, when it translates to foreign policy of the world's only superpower and global cop, this inability to understand attitudes and motivations of other people can become troublesome.

• Glyn at 10 Feb 2005, 4:28pm. Permalink

  ” First, lets be generous and say that every passport was issued to an adult and therefore lasts ten years. Assuming that everyone who

• Glyn at 10 Feb 2005, 4:39pm. Permalink

  Two things that do seem especially relevant from the above posts is the fact that Americans have less vacation times than other people (including working on 26 December) so don't have the time to take annual trips abroad; which is why they may have had passports in the past but have let them expire.

  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. The media said that it isn't a typical American holiday destination, but we weren't talking about a single resort but a sizeable proportion of the planet.

• Phil at 10 Feb 2005, 5:09pm. Permalink

  I'm not sure your 28% figure is any better I'm afraid Glyn - children have passports too and (I assume) they're included in the 60 million passportholders. Therefore the full total population of 281 million should be used.

  The only variable this brings up is that child passports don't last as long as adult ones, so the percentage should probably be slightly lower than I suggest. I think.

• John Edwards at 17 Feb 2005, 5:57pm. Permalink

  Useful site. Embarrassingly I work for the UK government and stumbled on your site while looking for a total figure for UK passport holders. Thanks. I'm now close enough. Not much to add except on a couple of points.

  One is on the number of British people who travel outside the EU. The figures are: In 2003, UK residents travelled to the EU over 45 million times and spent a total of 342 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. In 2003, UK residents travelled to non-EU Europe over 5.5 million times. Many visited countries which have subsequently joined the EU. It is likely, therefore, that 2004 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 25. France (12 million visits in 2003) and Spain (nearly 14 million visits in 2003) between them account for about 40 per cent of all visits abroad by UK residents.

  I'm not sure, however, whether I completely agree that travelling around the EU is no different from travelling within the North American continent. I think there is a greater variety of culture and language within the EU. But I fully accept the earlier point that travelling in of itself, even to the most exotic locations, does not necessarily broaden one's mind. 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 at 17 Feb 2005, 10:17pm. Permalink

  The idea that 'number of passports' can indicate anything other than the number of passports in circulation is laughable.

  The US is the only country that has two bordering nations that do not require passports for it's citizens to enter those countries.

  I realize it is a parlor game for most liberals to talk about this and other 'so-called' indicators of American 'stupidity'; I would think however that someone would actually point out the basis for such specious arguments. Then again, why worry about facts and reasons; when smear tactics are much more fun.

• Keith at 20 Feb 2005, 1:30pm. 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 at 21 Feb 2005, 10:40am. 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 at 23 Feb 2005, 11:43pm. Permalink

  I hate to be arrogant but I'm not just American, I'm a Texan. Why should we care about the rest of the world. Sure, openness to other cultures is important, but America is the dominant force in the world. Our media is the worlds media, our culture is the worlds culture (Dont tell my you've never drank a Coke, or seen a movie from Hollywood), our language (yours too England) is the worlds language. 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. Yeah, and I'm only 20. 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 and therefore they dont care about you. I dont know if my congressman has ever been to Europe, and I dont really care.
  God bless Texas!

• Eli at 1 Mar 2005, 12:53am. Permalink

  I'm thinking Jerry just wants to argue but it's hard to carry on a conversation with someone who thinks culture is Coke and Hollywood and who think that there's no news but FOX new. American's do not travel much. According to the US State Department 7% of American's travel abroad each year (the number is much higher if you include Canada and Mexico). That's higher then I thought but compared to the U.K.(73%) that's low. The vast majority of people in the U.K. just hop somewhere in the EU for vacation. It's much better to compare us to Australia where the number is 17-18%. What I really want to know is how many young people travel to third world countries from developed nations? How much cultural exposure 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. So next time you talk to one of us American's invite us out of our holes and politily help us understand your views of us. Be nice, unless we sound like Jerry, then you can sock us.

• Jerry at 2 Mar 2005, 9:43am. Permalink

  Lets play fair here Eli…
  Perhaps I did sound a bit aggressive; however, you were wrong as well to 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 your 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 3.8 percent, much higher than 1.6 percent in the Eurozone, last year) wouldnt that deter us from visiting thrid world countries, for cultural enhancement.
  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 20,000 ft high (Mt. Mckinley) and grill a steak and drink a cheap cold beer while your at it.

• nick at 6 Mar 2005, 12:41am. Permalink

  “The US is the only country that has two bordering nations that do not require passports for it

• Mike at 11 Mar 2005, 1:40pm. 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).

  I am currently a student in Australia and would like to say that travelling is encouraged within the education system here and the news (and no I don't watch fox :) ). 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 history), understands 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. And unfortunately this means that it is easier to portray another culture as “evil” to an uneducated public (by uneducated I am merely refering to the lack of understanding of different culture and situations).

  To Jerry, although I would like to visit the U.S at one stage, I'm so not sure that the culture and history of 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…. (and have seen too)

  peace

• Rich at 14 Mar 2005, 3:59pm. Permalink

  I think that some of the discusi

• thomas riccardo at 20 Mar 2005, 1:27pm. Permalink

  Some would say, like the above that no other country dictates or has any influence over the U.S.
  I would say that would be false since most 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 extent other areas of the World, Hindu for example.
  America from 1863 to 1971 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. Perhaps your media's are not as open as I thought they would be.
  Why is the Euro-dollar 34 cents more then the American dollar?
  And that is a new currency!
  We export 9% of the world's goods and import around 18%, is that dominance in trade?
  On a PPP GDP basis we have about 18 percent of the World's economy.
  Is that Dominance?
  In the 1970's the U.S. had 50 percent of the World's economy!
  We also travelled the World more then most other countries!
  In the early 1980's that changed and has been deteriorating since.
  50 Million people have no healthcare, over 100 million more only have partial coverage.
  Very expensive Higher Education and a very underdeveloped trade education with no national system such as Germany's.
  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.S.
  Current Account deficits approaching 800 billion dollars a year, Governmental debts approaching 650 billion a year including the raids on the S.S. and Medicare accounts.
  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. and you will get a clearer picture why we do not travel as much.

• Jack at 22 Mar 2005, 5:26am. Permalink

  Thank you for assembling this data. Alough I'm an American citizen myself, I was surprised to learn that the level of passport ownership here is so high. Had someone asked me to guess, I would have estimated it to be 10% or less.

• Ron Larson at 24 Mar 2005, 7:17am. Permalink

  There are some very simple reasons that are unique to the US that easily explain this statistic.

  (1) American vacations are shorter. Sometimes all you get is two weeks. It is hard to cram a trip to the other side of the planet in such a short time.

  Compared to other nations when you have time to travel somewhere.

  (2) American youths do not have a skip year (like Euros & Aussies). After high school they usually go straight into college/university, and then usually straight in to work. Often they don't get their first real vacation until their late 20's or 30's.

  Hence, when they have time, they often have young children too. Dragging screaming kids on an 8 hour international flight is not most people's idea of fun.

  (3) The US is huge and very diverse. You don't need to leave the country to get a very different way of life and a very different change of scenary. We have awesome parks everywhere that can take a lifetime to explore.

  (4) No passports are/were needed to travel to Mexico, Caribbean, and Canada. Why pay $50-$100 for a passport when your drivers license will do?

  (5) Fuel is cheaper. To “travel” far enough to require a passport usually means having to fly. When you have a family of 3-5, it is often much cheaper to simply drive the family car to a vacation spot in the US or Canada.

  (6) Inexpensive foriegn holiday destinations. 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. The average American is in their 30's when they finally get to travel. They have some kids to drag along and only 12 days off. They see they cab go on a Caribbean cruise for $2000. No passport needed. All inclusive. No having to lean another language, find hotels, wait in lines. Just climb aboard and relax.

  No brainer there!

• Michael at 24 Mar 2005, 3:07pm. Permalink

  Many of 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.

  I just spent a week in Costa Rica on what I felt was an extravagant week (considering the level of development of the host country) and airfare included I spent less than $600. That includes transport, lodging, meals, and entertainment.

  I recognize that America is a vast country with numerous spectacular landmarks, but the cultural experience just isn't there. Compared with travelling to another country, traversing this nation doesn't provide that drastic of a difference from what I'm accustomed to.

  I will concede that foreign travel isn't for everyone but I'm firm in my belief that travel really opens one's mind and helps nurture a respect for the international community. In the modern world, America will not maintain its current status by isolating itself and disrespecting the rest of the world.

• dave fuller at 25 Mar 2005, 10:52pm. Permalink

  Sorry for ruining your statistical calculations all those that were estimating the uk passport figures.

  I

• Rich at 2 Apr 2005, 10:43pm. Permalink

  One of the reasons American may not travel outside the U.S. is because of the attitude/reaction they get from other travellers. 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.S. foreign and environmental policy, and the assumption that as an American he must be a supporter of the George Bush/Republican policy.

  Eddie explained that it was mainly Canadians and Europeans making criticisms of the U.S. but in fact the biggest critics of Bush/U.S. policy were Americans such as himself, and that over 50 percent of Americans are not supporters of Bush.

  Examples of negative comments Eddie gave were
  - people mentioning the Kyoto protocol, and that the U.S. has not signed up (making no mention of Australia not signing up)
  - people criticising the US over the the Iraq war (again not mentioning the UK Australian and other support for this)
  - people saying “you

• Tom at 5 Apr 2005, 6:23pm. Permalink

  Note to Ted: There is no such thing as the US Office of Central Statistics. General observation: Americans are ultimately like everyone else. Some of us have the means, the time, and the inclination to travel abroad, and some of us don't. 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. From my experience, most people who rail about Americans' R