About 3.2 billion people watched at least a minute of the World Cup in 2010, and preliminary numbers from this year all say the 2014 Cup’s numbers are going to be way higher. That means about half, if not more, of the world’s population will have watched this year’s cup.
MAP: The most popular sport in every country (soccer is really popular)
Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images
Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers ideology and challenges to democracy, both at home and abroad. His book on democracy, The Reactionary Spirit, was published 0n July 16. You can purchase it here.
But, after taking a look at this map of the most popular sports around the world, that shouldn’t surprise us all that much. Soccer dominates the global sports scene, in a way that’s almost impossible to appreciate in the abstract.
Here’s the map of the most popular sport in each country — notice how much green, representing places where soccer dominates, there is:
The data comes from a 2006 National Geographic graphic called "Soccer United the World." Earl Andrew/THUGCHilDz
Sure, there’s a few other interesting tidbits in here. The English speaking world loves the ball-carrying sports like American football, rugby, and Gaelic football. Cold places like hockey. And the Indian subcontinent is really into cricket.
But soccer supremacy is the big story. In virtually all of Europe, South America, Africa, and the Middle East, soccer is king. Ditto most of Asia and Central America. If it weren’t for people’s weird tastes in China and some former British colonies, soccer would basically be a universal sport. As of right now, it’s pretty damn close.
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