Poll highlights Belgians' misconceptions

Dec 9, 2015

Robyn Boyle

According to a survey by Ipsos MORI, a leading market research company in the UK, Belgium holds a shameful seventh place in the list of countries with the least accurate knowledge of key subjects, writes Le Vif.

Ipsos’ latest version of the Perils of Perception survey – or Index of Ignorance – highlights how inaccurate the public view can be about certain key issues and features about the population in their country. Research for the study was performed in 33 countries, using knowledge tests on topics like inequality, immigration and obesity, among others.

Belgium and Italy are the only European countries to join the ranks of the world's 'most ignorant' top ten, according to the study, which shows a large gap between perception and reality among Belgians.

Particular weak points are topics such as immigration, with the majority of respondents saying that one in four people in Belgium is an immigrant, whereas in reality it is less than one in 10.

The Belgian respondents also underestimated the number of obese people in their country, estimating an obesity rate of 37%, while in reality 54% of Belgians are excessively overweight.

The 'most ignorant' top ten of 2015, according to the study, are Mexico in first place, followed by India, Brazil, Peru, New Zealand, Colombia, Belgium, South Africa, Argentina and Italy.

“Across all 33 countries in the study, each population gets a lot wrong,” says Ipsos MORI managing director Bobby Duffy on their website. “We are often most incorrect on factors that are widely discussed in the media or highlighted as challenges facing societies, such as the proportion of young adults still living at home, immigration and wealth inequality. We know from previous studies that this is partly because we over-estimate what we worry about – as well as worrying about the issues we think are widespread.”