Public Knowledge

Three-quarters of Americans are familiar with the length of a Supreme Court appointment.

Americans’ understanding of digital topics varies notably depending on the subject. For example, majorities of U.S. adults know what cookies on websites do and can identify a secure password, but far fewer can recognize an example of two-factor authentication.

Test your knowledge of digital topics and terms by taking our nine-question quiz. Then, compare your score with knowledge measured among the American public.

About one-in-four Asian Americans (24%) consider themselves extremely or very informed about the history of Asian people in the United States.

Here’s what Americans said they learned about the development of vaccines and medical treatments and their advice for handling a future outbreak.

Older Americans, those with more education and men tend to score better on our 12-question quiz about international knowledge. Republicans and Democrats have roughly the same levels of international knowledge, while conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats tend to score better than their more moderate counterparts.

How much do you know about international affairs? And how do you compare with the average American? Take our short, 12-question quiz to measure your international knowledge.

Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

Roughly a quarter of American adults (23%) say they haven’t read a book in whole or in part in the past year.

U.S. adults in this group are less likely to get the facts right about COVID-19 and politics and more likely to hear some unproven claims.