Divided by a common language: the biggest differences between Brits and Americans (according to data)

A shared language helps cultural concepts move quickly between the UK and the US, but they are two very different places – something we often forget. A recent book takes great care to outline the differences in racial dynamics across the two countries – something we can be guilty of importing without enough critical thinking and translation.?

Data analysis allows us to look at both countries afresh, by surfacing the biggest differences to highlight where we diverge the most. To do this, I’ve looked at the biggest differences in GWI Core, and combed through our archive of topical Zeitgeist studies since 2020.?

For the most part I’ve excluded things like brands and sports teams, in favor of data points that provide a bit more insight into differences beyond “X brand has more shops in this country”.?

So compared to Americans, people in the UK are (or were)...

35% more likely to be interested in vegetarian food, which is the topic Brits care about most, relative to their American counterparts.?

44% more likely to say they always try to recycle. In fact, the UK leads all countries for saying this. Why exactly, I’ve never quite figured out. It’s not like we actually recycle more stuff than other countries. My best guess is some kind of inheritance of the wartime, “make do and mend” attitude. We might not have ration books anymore, but my dad will continue to steadfastly rinse out those tins of tuna.?

2.1x more likely to not know what a credit score is.

2.2x more likely to celebrate Eid.

2.2x more likely to have sold second-hand clothing, which seems linked to our recycling obsession.?

2.3x more likely to say Covid had a dramatic impact on their ability to access healthcare. This one really surprised me, given we tend to think of Americans as the ones who struggle to access healthcare.?

2.4x more likely to work in travel or tourism.

2.4x more likely to be looking forward to the 2022 World Cup “a lot”. We Brits were also much more 2.6x more likely to strongly oppose brands sponsoring it, and 3.3x more likely to oppose it taking place in Qatar. The clue of this tournament is in the name – it’s a World Cup – but we were in much more of a bubble in our thinking about it then most of us realized.?

2.4x more likely to use public transport regularly, and 2.5x more likely to never drive a car.?

2.4x more likely to use Strava.?

2.6x more likely not to make a New Year’s Resolution because “there’s nothing I feel I need to improve in my life”. Who knew we were such optimists?

2.6x more likely to not know what a meme is. I’d never thought about this way, but memes are a more American concept than we might think. We’re in good company though – Cillian Murphy doesn’t know what one is either.?

2.7x more likely to have a pension.

2.7x more likely to enjoy watching soaps on TV.

2.8x more likely to consume media from Scandinavia. Given how much we look to America, we forget how close we are to some of our near-neighbors.?

2.8x more likely to think society should make tackling ableism a priority.?

2.8x more likely to celebrate Diwali.

3x more likely to buy foreign currency.

3x more likely to say walking is their ideal commute.

3.6x more likely to think about emissions when buying a car.

3.8x more likely to commute by bus, and 5.1x more likely to say the train is their main method of commuting.?

3.8x more likely to rate their country’s handling of the vaccine rollout as “excellent”.?

3.8x more likely to use Skyscanner.

3.9x more likely to be in the market for a hatchback car.

3.9x more likely to be aware of the Forest Stewardship Council.

4.3x more likely to follow the Paralympics.

4.7x more likely to say their behavior in-person could be described as “impulsive”. This one also surprised me, though in that survey we didn’t ask if said behavior was helped with a bit of lubrication.

5.2x more likely to use takeaway apps.?

5.3x more likely to have a diesel car.

5.4x more likely to read BBC News. As John Burn-Murdoch has pointed out, we in the UK often don’t fully realize how much more centralized our news market is.??

5.8x more likely to drive a Fiat.

6.2x more likely to take regular rapid tests during the pandemic. As you can probably tell, Covid really exposed just how structurally different the UK and US are, for better or worse. You and your American colleagues might watch the same Netflix shows, but your experiences of the pandemic will be vastly different.?

6.3x more likely to say WhatsApp is their favorite social media app.

6.4x more likely to drink Volvic.?

6.6x more likely to drink Pepsi Max.?

8.8x more likely to follow cricket.

12.5x more likely to have left school at 16. For all of the lazy jokes about dumb Americans that come round every so often, by this metric at least we’re less well-educated than our friends across the pond.?

Whereas compared to Brits, Americans are (or were)…

55% more likely to think of themselves as “opinion leaders”, which is the single attitude where they diverge from Brits the most.?

56% more likely to be interested in entrepreneurship, the topic that most separates them from the UK.?

2x more likely to have tried CBD.

2x more likely to attend a religious festival.

2x more likely to be most concerned about violent crime.

2x more likely to buy air conditioning units.

2.1x more likely to use trading apps.

2.1x more likely to believe their government was handling the pandemic effectively.

2.1x more likely to say faith/spirituality is important to them.

2.1x more likely to buy insect repellent for the summer.

2.1x more likely to be against vaccines in general.

2.2x to say racial justice is the most important charitable cause to them.

2.2x more likely to say religion contributes to their online identity.

2.2x more likely to play Zelda.

2.2x more likely to enjoy business and leadership books.

2.2x more likely to watch overnight TV (2AM-6AM).

2.3x more likely to drink Diet Dr. Pepper.

2.4x more likely to strongly disagree with the idea that brands should support social justice causes.

2.4x to be price-conscious about healthcare or medicine.

2.4x more likely to drink tequila.

2.4x more likely to enjoy graphic novels, comic books, or manga.

2.5x more likely to regularly eat at restaurants.

2.6x more likely to worry about water scarcity.

2.6x more likely to trust religious institutions.

2.6x more likely to have parents who invested money.

2.6x more likely to strongly oppose governments regulating social media. It feels like the ultimate act of stating the obvious, but it really is striking just how much personal freedom is embedded in American culture.?

2.7x more likely to support FC Barcelona. This is, of course, a reflection of the Hispanic influence in the States.?

2.7x more likely to follow basketball.

2.8x more likely to choose high-risk investments.

3.1x more likely to drink iced tea.

3.3x more likely to strongly disagree with the idea that the government should do more to regulate online misinformation.

3.4x more likely to strongly oppose banning TikTok on work devices.

3.8x more likely to strongly approve of Elon Musk buying Twitter, and 3.8x more likely to say it would make them much more likely to use it (this was in July last year by the way).

4.7x more likely to celebrate Passover.

5.9x more likely to dress up for St. Patrick’s Day.

This is (not) America

Some cultural differences seem so painfully obvious to write down, and yet they still need to be spelled out, because their sheer obviousness makes us more likely to ignore them.

The United States of America has a stronger belief in personal freedom and opposition to government control (just look at how Americans shake their heads at the Online Safety Bill). Linked to freedom is a strong sense of ambition, entrepreneurship, and optimism. Religion plays a big role in private and public life. The USA’s climate is more extreme, making things like water availability part of the political agenda in some places. Its culture absorbs more influences from Jewish and Hispanic immigrants (to say nothing of its, um, complicated history of racial relations).

The UK on the other hand, takes more cultural cues from its former colonies, particularly modern-day India and Pakistan. We have a lower appetite for risk, and we have less knowledge of, and interest in, most financial topics. This is partly a product of us having much more state support, creating less of an incentive for pursuing wealth through our own means.?

We do, though, have some things in common. I have adopted the strictest possible criteria for this next bit – finding things that Brits and Americans responded to at exactly the same percentage, not allowing for even a point difference either side. In many ways, I find these more interesting.

So Americans and Brits are exactly as likely to…

Worry about global rising temperatures. We may differ on the explanations, and the potential solutions, but there’s much more of a consensus on climate change than you may think. Likewise, both countries are equally as likely to worry about their personal carbon footprint, and climate change’s impact on their personal life.

Worry about drug-related violence, which absolutely floored me. The UK isn’t perfect, but we don’t have the same problems with opioid drugs, so I can’t tell if the UK is high or the US is low here.

Drink Diet Pepsi, which makes the British taste for Pepsi Max all the more intriguing.?

Play Assassin’s Creed.?

Follow authors on social media.?

Say Instagram is their favorite social media platform.?

Feel in control of their personal data online, which, if anything, suggests that GDPR hasn’t made much of a meaningful difference.??

Find out about products through word-of-mouth.

Want brands to offer more inclusive sizes.?

Be interested in eating out. This fascinates me, because Americans actually do so much more often. Maybe if we were richer, we’d get closer to their numbers.?

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All data in the above blog is taken from either GWI Core Q1 2023, or various Zeitgeist studies conducted between 2020 and 2023.?