The number of citizens who have a passport is an indicator of how many have ever visited a foreign country.
There are no official statistics available from the US government on how many Americans have valid passports, but estimates range from a low of 10% to a high of 25%.
The graphic on the right, provided by the US Department of State shows that the number of passports issued per year has been rising dramatically in recent years. Analysis of this data suggests that currently, about 30% of the population hold a passport. Perhaps this is a result of the good times that once were, but have now ended…
In an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, staff writer Jon Tevlin lamented this small percentage of passport holders and compares our numbers to other countries:
- In Germany, 90 per cent of citizens have passports.
- In Great Britian, 64 per cent.
- In Canada, it's 40 per cent.
There are many explanations as to why the number of Americans with passports is such a low percentage as compared to Europeans, or even Canadians. Some examples are:
- Unless they live in a border state, the average American has to pay a great deal of money for a transatlantic flight in order to go on vacation in a foreign country, whereas in Europe tickets are incredibly cheap to fly, take a train, or drive from country to country.
- Americans don't get nearly as much vacation time from work as European, so traveling long distance for a short vacation is not as attractive as it would be otherwise.
- The U.S.A. has a greater variety of places to visit within the country when compared to many European countries.
- Americans are more aprehensive than Europeans to go to another country where a different language is spoken, there are different customs, the food is different, etc.
Additionally, many Americans who have obtained passports perhaps did so only to visit a nearby Carribean island to enjoy the sun and sea.
Also, since many American families have a European heritage, those who did venture beyond the nearby islands likely went to see Europe. Paris is the most visited destination in the world for good reason!
Based upon this conjecture, it is reasonable to assume that few Americans have ever visited any country in South America.
As a result, most U.S. citizens are totally ignorant of what Latin America has to offer and how terrific the quality of life actually is in many places there - as compared to the US.
Want to learn more about Latin America? Visit there now by clicking on the image below to open a new window and visit the GoogleLatin America web site:
