home
Menu
Create
Random
0
0
0
thumbnail

Countries Most-Mentioned by the New York Times

Someone made a list. For each month since 1900, they calculated the country that appeared most frequently in New York Times headlines. Which countries had the most months?
Not counting the United States
Source
For some of the countries we give you a year in which they were a newsmaker
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Featured Quiz
Last updated: January 5, 2019
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedJanuary 5, 2019
Times taken44,697
Average score73.7%
Rating4.70
Quiz and answer stats >>
Friends stats >>
4:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 19 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
# Months
Country
367
Russia / Soviet Union
304
United Kingdom
123
Germany
114
China
82
France
77
Iraq
69
Vietnam
62
Japan
55
Israel
25
Iran
19
Mexico
Year Hint
# Months
Country
1935
15
Italy
1983
14
Lebanon
1962
13
Cuba
2013
11
Syria
1981
10
Poland
1936
10
Spain
1956
8
Egypt
1970
7
Cambodia
Your Next Quiz
• Countries on the Equator
• Champions League Winners
• Andean Countries
• Smallest 25 U.S. States - Sudden Death
40 Comments
cshtthomas
+5
Level 59
Jan 5, 2019
If Vietnam and Cambodia, why not Laos?
IsleAuHaulte
+25
Level 90
Jan 5, 2019
The Khmer Rouge stayed in the news for decades and were more horrific than the Pathet Lao.
Quizmaster
+20
Level ∞
Jan 6, 2019
Most of the Cambodian news was about the 1970 invasion by the United States. (This is a U.S. newspaper after all).
tshalla
+1
Level 77
Feb 17, 2019
That's interesting. I'd also thought that the it would be from 1975-78.
goalslammer
+13
Level 45
Feb 18, 2019
Remember, the country had to have the MOST mentions in any given month for it to count. So likely anytime Laos was in the conversation, Vietnam was more so.
mf3
+17
Level 88
Jan 5, 2019
This seems weird. I seem to recall a few months in which Afghanistan made a few headlines (across the last EIGHTEEN YEARS)...
Quizmaster
+12
Level ∞
Jan 6, 2019
Why not go look it up? The source is posted. Afghanistan was the most-mentioned country six times. Twice in 2001 and four times in 2009.
tshalla
+7
Level 77
Feb 17, 2019
And I guess that how this works is that if Afghanistan was mentioned in 1979, then the Soviet Union would be mentioned too. And since the USSR would get mentions in other stories, then probably Afghanistan could never "win" in those months.
JWatson24
+7
Level 71
Jul 28, 2020
Yeah, plus look at how much Iraq is mentioned. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mostly overlapped, there were probably plenty of months where Iraq beat out Afghanistan for first place.
Djilas
+6
Level 84
Jan 13, 2019
They count just the most mentioned country every month, not all mentions. Majority vs. proportional representation ...
KoljiVriVoda
+2
Level 78
Jan 5, 2019
Oh Russia...
mikeb
+7
Level 65
Jan 6, 2019
Just curious -- Are these countries actually named in the headlines, or does it just refer to stories concerning them? (e.g. "STALIN DIES" or "PARIS LIBERATED")
redsplat
+8
Level 73
Jan 6, 2019
From what I can gauge from the source, it looks like it's can be implied and/or articulated. So "Paris liberated" would indeed count as France.
ReyFer
+1
Level 65
Jan 8, 2019
indeed
ruudsje
+39
Level 69
Feb 17, 2019
paris has been liberated? and, and stalin is dead?? i should definitely start reading the paper more often
Tramp
+12
Level 77
Feb 22, 2020
Unfortunately, Paris is still under control of the Gauls
ReyFer
+8
Level 65
Jan 8, 2019
I would like to know how the count is made indeed.

I consider it hart to belive that Korea (both North and South haven't made to the list), considering the Korea War and everything that happened this year

ReyFer
+3
Level 65
Jan 8, 2019
ok, I read the source and I have understand more clearly how it is done.

We only consider the "most-mentioned" country every month, making it much harder for tier-2 countries to enter the list unless they have been relevant during a whole month

ReyFer
+1
Level 65
Jan 8, 2019
still, I'm looking at the headlines of 1911. There is one stating: "Morocco dispute not ended; but Germany has replied to the latest French proposals"

Only France is counted there as country although Germany must be included as well and we could discuss Morocco as it was not yet independent

JackBeNimble
+4
Level 82
Jan 11, 2019
Regardless of the way in which the data were compiled, this is an interesting representation of the media coverage over that time period. I was amazed at what the NYT led with the first time I read it (1999), which, as far as I can remember, was a piece describing the situation in Northern Ireland and PIRA in what, to me at the time, were astonishingly pro-violence terms when most of us were desperately begging for an end to the killing. At other times, especially in recent years, I've found the paper to be very anti-violence in any form. The same variance is true of most other publications in my experience, and makes for a fascinating study of the media and a multitude of sociological phenomena.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 81
Feb 17, 2019
I remember the first time I opened the English-language daily Arab News in Saudi Arabia and found an editorial praising Adolf Hitler and urging for a second Holocaust.
ander217
+2
Level 75
Feb 17, 2019
I'm surprised they admit there was a first one.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 81
Mar 17, 2019
They go back and forth. Sometimes they'll say there was one and Hitler was a great man for doing it. Other times they'll deny it ever happened at all and was just a Zionist conspiracy to create an excuse to steal Muslim lands. And other times they will say that it did happen, but, the extent of it is exaggerated and that it really ought to be done again and done properly this time.
GKS
+1
Level 46
May 21, 2020
That really is all over the place. Is this a newspaper for some sort of Nazi group, or just Arab News?
poltergeist
+3
Level 62
Jan 8, 2022
difference?
ManxMarvel
+6
Level 40
Feb 17, 2019
Mexico, France, Germany, Russia, they were all easy. I managed to get a few bigger ones just by thinking of conflicts and trading. and got the South East Asian ones easily. Last one, Not Afghanistan or Pakistan... oh 56, Must be Korea either North or South... oh, Canada?, India? Australia? Austria? Portugal? Brazil? Columbia? Saudi Arabia, Czech Republic? What was it...the land of the pyramids. *retires from Jetpunk.
TheRealMikeJones
+1
Level 58
Feb 17, 2019
Can't believe I missed Vietnam! I also missed Lebanon and Cambodia.
Neighinator
+1
Level 56
Feb 17, 2019
I forgot the UK.
AQuaBlaster
+1
Level 40
Feb 18, 2019
Found them all with only 4 seconds remaining. Boy, i was lucky with Lebanon.
martay
+6
Level 70
Feb 18, 2019
Americans are, of course, famous for their ever changing monthly national obsessions and need for global gossip. We can't stop talking about who next sovereign nation should be or who's the darling of the UN this spring. I mean did you see the dress Colombia was wearing? You know, I heard that Slovenia and Slovakia are on the skids and that India is no longer self-identifying as South Asian. It now prefers to be called "subcontinental".
MindWax
+2
Level 86
Jun 18, 2024
This is an odd thing to hear, since in my experience 90% non-Americans spend 90% of their time talking about (usually complaining about) the United States, and one of the very common complaints is how LITTLE idea Americans seem to have about the intricate political goings-on in a country 100x smaller than the US.
zakatan
+3
Level 65
Feb 19, 2020
You don't talk much about Canada there, I see. Nothing remarkable up there.
RubyBubbles
+1
Level 47
Nov 26, 2020
Cool quiz. The hints for the less mentioned countries was helpful and got me thinking. Thank you.
Ranthas
+1
Level 40
Jul 24, 2021
I just first-tried it and got 100%. I've never been more proud of myself (eastern-european) knowing what Americans think about
Prakash14
+3
Level 57
Sep 15, 2021
It's shocking that Kosovo just misses out with 6
Guanabara
+1
Level 38
Dec 10, 2021
Very original quiz. Good job
lordhagen27
+1
Level 63
May 10, 2022
Interesting. Maybe someone could make a version with the least mentioned?
loni
+1
Level 68
Mar 1, 2023
It would be tiny island nations all along.
Laosmouse
+1
Level 44
Feb 5, 2023
Disturbing the nation America was at war with for 20 years isn't even on the list.
FlyingG
+1
Level 69
Sep 24, 2023
Six times, barely missing.
Save Your Progress
Similar Quizzes by Tag
Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2025
Contact Us | Go To Top | View Mobile Site