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Territories of the United States

In addition to the 50 states, the United States has 16 territories, of which 5 are populated. Guess the five permanently populated territories.
Population of the first territory is a 2019 estimate
All other population numbers from the 2010 census
Quiz by craigsnyder
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Last updated: August 19, 2020
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First submittedJanuary 19, 2014
Times taken45,718
Average score60.0%
Rating4.63
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Population
Territory
3,193,694
Puerto Rico
159,358
Guam
106,405
U.S. Virgin Islands
77,000
Northern Mariana Islands
55,519
American Samoa
61 Comments
+3
Level 64
Mar 11, 2016
Midway Islands?
+10
Level 44
Mar 14, 2016
It's noted in the description that I did not include U.S. Territories that do not have a permanent resident population.
+3
Level 76
Jul 8, 2016
I don't see any mention of "permanent" population in the instructions - maybe you'd like to add that?
+15
Level 44
Jul 9, 2016
It was in the original instructions, but it appears they were slightly edited when Jetpunk decided to feature my quiz. I have added permanent for clarity
+1
Level 59
Nov 23, 2020
I was gonna say, Midway is just an air base, not really a permanent population, a bit like Antarctica's research bases.
+1
Level 62
Apr 11, 2016
Where's the District of Columbia? And if you're listing 'present' it implies that you wanted to include past territories?
+13
Level 44
Apr 20, 2016
The District of Columbia is a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. It is its own unique legal status. This is different from a U.S. Territory which is overseen by the federal government as a whole, typically the executive branch, and has a greater degree of self-governance.

I did not include past territories, I'm considering it for a separate quiz.

+10
Level 69
Apr 3, 2020
DC can vote. These five can't
+2
Level 26
Dec 21, 2020
but DC has no representation in the senate
+8
Level 85
May 31, 2016
100% - thanks to the US Quarter series!
+4
Level 60
May 31, 2016
Easiest quiz I have taken. I come from Puerto Rico
+2
Level 45
Jul 8, 2016
U.K.?
+6
Level 60
Jul 8, 2016
Since when did the UK become a US territory?
+12
Level 50
Jul 8, 2016
Maybe scrumpyone is asking for a quiz of UK territories. I doubt this person thinks that the UK is a territory of the US.
+1
Level 60
Jul 8, 2016
Well there was this one, but it got defeatured.
+3
Level 45
Jul 11, 2016
I was being sarcastic.
+1
Level 89
Oct 23, 2019
We pretty much bought the country with 2 world wars they never paid back the money for. Just outright stiffed us like a welfare case.
+2
Level 61
Apr 21, 2022
please elaborate
+5
Level 90
Jul 8, 2016
When will the US give these countries their freedom?
+8
Level 60
Jul 8, 2016
It seems the independance movement over here in Puerto Rico is rising a bit due to the Fiscal Control Board. Though IMO, I really would like statehood. For the rest, IDK. Also, these aren't countries, there territories
+3
Level 60
Jul 8, 2016
They're*, my bad
+2
Level 79
Apr 2, 2020
and independence*
+4
Level 71
Aug 22, 2020
Gamer1162, I agree with you. My personal opinion (as a non-Puerto Rican American) is that Puerto Rico deserves to be a state. From what I can tell the prospect is pretty popular among Puerto Ricans, although I haven't been to Puerto Rico myself so can't say for sure.
+3
Level 81
Jul 8, 2016
But then we'd have to give up the right of Prima Nocte...
+2
Level 79
Apr 2, 2020
Why the devil should the US do so?
+1
Level 74
Jul 8, 2016
Can CNMI be a type-in please?
+2
Level 44
Jul 9, 2016
Added, thank you for the suggestion
+1
Level 74
Jul 8, 2016
I got Northern Marianas, but forgot Virgin Islands. Face smack.
+1
Level 74
Aug 23, 2020
This time I still got Northern Marianas as well as the Virgin Islands, but forgot American Samoa. I always forget one.
+1
Level 61
Jan 4, 2017
Fun quiz!
+1
Level 36
Mar 29, 2017
I could never figure out why the founding fathers couldn't have chosen Maryland or Virginia for the capitol instead of creating

the havoc of "District of Columbia" (Columbia WHAT?) - just

seems to unnecessarily complicate things. By the same token,

what was wrong with keeping either New York or Philadelphia as the capitol???????????????????

+1
Level 46
Apr 16, 2018
If the capital was New York or Philadelphia, New York or New Jersey would have too much political power. Oh wait, they do anyway.
+6
Level 93
Aug 8, 2018
philadelphia is in pennsylvania
+3
Level 67
Aug 22, 2020
New York doesn't have enough political power. Sparsely populated states have disproportionately large shares of federal power.
+2
Level 74
Aug 23, 2020
jmellor13, New York has 27 US representatives and Pennsylvania has 18 while Alaska and Wyoming, for example, have 1. I don't think they can get any fewer.
+3
Level 67
Aug 24, 2020
And each of those two states has two senators, despite the fact that New York's population is 33 times greater than Wyoming's (which also means that, by population proportion, New York should have 33 times more representatives than Wyoming, not just 27 times as many). Wyoming gets 3 electoral votes. Proportionally, New York should have 99. It has 29. That means there is one electoral vote for every 670,000 New Yorkers. That's more than the entire population of Wyoming, which gets 3 votes for its 580,000 residents. So a Wyoming resident's vote for president counts more than three times as much as a New Yorker's vote. Less-populated states have disproportionate power in both the stronger chamber of Congress and in the election of the president. I understand the founders' logic, but there is no denying that big states like New York, California, and Texas have less power than their populations dictate they should.
+8
Level 87
Oct 28, 2018
Not sure what "havoc" you're referring to. Plenty of countries have the capital as its own separate district rather than being part of a state or province (China, for example). Personally I think the situation in Canada is more confusing, where Ottawa is located in Ontario but is not the capital of Ontario.

As for why the capitol moved to D.C., see this wiki article (or, better yet, just listen to "The Room Where it Happens" from the musical Hamilton).

+1
Level 59
Aug 22, 2020
As Cornflakesfu mentioned, the reason the capital is in between Virginia and Maryland is described in Hamilton, but a quick summary is basically Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wanted more power for the southern states, specifically Virginia. They got to have the capital in Virginia in return for Hamilton being given control of a system he could "shape however he wanted". Hamilton only agreed to this because the Treasurer(him) would still have the banks in the same spot. "He got more than he gave."
+1
Level 79
Aug 23, 2020
Additionally, the shape that DC is right now was not the original shape. Originally DC was a rhombus with portions taken from Maryland and from Virginia. The portion taken from Virginia was Alexandria County, District of Columbia and the portion from Maryland was Washington County, District of Columbia. Alexandria County contained the City of Alexandria while Washington County contained the City of Georgetown and the City of Washington. Alexandria County was returned to Virginia in 1846 and the City of Georgetown, the City of Washington, and Washington County were merged into Washington, DC in 1871.
+1
Level 44
Jun 9, 2017
Guam totally exited my mind…
+1
Level 63
Dec 14, 2018
American Samoa is an independent country, most people call it just Samoa
+17
Level 44
Dec 16, 2018
It's not, they're actually two separate places. American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States, which should not be confused with the Independent State of Samoa, which is located nearby, but is in fact a distinct and different place.
+1
Level 72
Feb 13, 2024
Samoa (the country) used to be known as Western Samoa until 1997.
+1
Level 85
Aug 22, 2020
https://2020census.gov/en/conducting-the-count/island-areas/northern-mariana.html says "According to 2010 Census data, the total population of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was 53,883."
+6
Level 79
Aug 22, 2020
Could you accept 'USVI' (a common abbreviation) for U.S. Virgin Islands?
+1
Level 72
Feb 13, 2024
Seconded, I tried USVI.
+2
Level 78
Aug 22, 2020
Well, it's a good thing America doesn't have colonies.
+2
Level 47
Aug 22, 2020
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.
+1
Level 48
May 21, 2021
yeah that would be hipocritical
+1
Level 47
Aug 22, 2020
If anyone's interested, check out these U.S. territory quizzes. U.S. Virgin Islands: https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1291421/us-virgin-islands-trivia

Northern Mariana Islands: https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1291421/northern-mariana-islands-trivia

+1
Level 46
Aug 22, 2020
I got all 5, nice
+1
Level 55
Sep 8, 2021
Baker Island? Midway Islands? Wake Island?
+1
Level 44
Sep 11, 2021
Uninhabited or non-permanent resident population. The quiz description notes that this quiz refers only to permanently populated US territories.
+1
Level 68
Jun 20, 2022
what about Guantanamo Bay ?
+1
Level 46
Nov 30, 2022
US doesnt own it, theyre just squatters who refuse to leave someone elses land
+1
Level 71
Jul 27, 2023
Nope, paid for as agreed.
+1
Level 72
Feb 13, 2024
Military bases are not considered territories.
+1
Level 53
Dec 20, 2022
"virgin" should be accepted for the U.S virgin islands.
+1
Level 53
Oct 12, 2023
I didnt get 100% because I put US virgin islands, not U.S Virgin islands
+1
Level 72
Feb 13, 2024
Full stops and capitalisation are never required on Jetpunk.
+1
Level 85
Jun 1, 2024
easy one