Passport At The Ready

For the Christmas post, I thought it might be fun to do a little quiz.

Most of us would be worried if we lost our passports. Thousands of people would give anything to have a passport like ours, and we spend hours in the airport just hanging around with our passports, but have you ever given it much thought?

Let’s see how much you know about passports.

Question 1

All passports are one of four colours. What are the four colours?

1. Red, blue, brown and black
2. Blue, black, green and purple
3. Red, blue, green and black 
4. Green, red, blue and brown

Question 2

In the UK, 86.5% of the population has a passport; what percentage do you think own passports in the USA?

1. 46% 
2. 56%
3. 66%
4. 76%

Question 3

The passport text must be written in a language other than the native language. The second language must be one of which three languages?

1. French, Mandarin, or English
2. French, Hindi, or Mandarin
3. English, Spanish and Mandarin
4. English, French or Spanish.

Question 4

Why do many Muslim countries use green passports?

1. This is because green is the colour of fertile land and a good harvest
2. It is because it is the same colour as the branches of a date palm
3. This is because green is considered the favourite colour of the Prophet Mohammed.
4. It is the colour of Mulukhiyah, a green vegetable grown over much of the Middle East.

Question 5

What is the colour of the new British passport?

1. Blue
2. Black
3. Red
4. Brown

Question 6

What is the most common passport colour?

1. Green
2. Black
3. Red
4. Blue

Question 7

Do all standard passports across the world have the same number of blank pages?

1. Yes
2. No

Question 8

Which country was the first to use 3M™ Colour Floating Image technology in its passports?

1. Japan
2. Australia
3. South Korea
4. USA

Question 9

Which countries have passports that you could use as a flipbook; if you flick the pages, the image moves.

1. Barbados and Saint Lucia
2. Finland and Slovenia
3. Denmark and Hungary
4. Japan and Brazil

Question 10

Which of these images does not feature on the new UK passport?

1. Buckingham Palace
2. The London Underground
3. Shakespeare Globe
4. The Penny Black

So, how did you do?

Scroll down for the answers.

Question 1

All passports are one of four colours. What are the four colours?

C. Red, blue, green and black 

All passports are different shades of these four colours.

The colour of a passport often indicates the economic union to which the country belongs.

A lot of the EU countries have red passports, and so do countries with a communist background.

Blue passports include many Caribbean countries, South American countries and the United States.

Green passports are often from Muslim countries, although a few West African countries also have green passports.

Black passports are from New Zealand, Trinidad, Tobago, Angola, Congo and Malawi. 

Question 2

In the UK, 86.5% of the population has a passport; what percentage do you think own passports in the USA?

B. 56%

It is not surprising that many Americans do not have passports, as they have such a big and diverse country to explore.

Question 3

Passport text must be written in a language other than the native language. The second language must be one of which three languages?

D. English, French or Spanish.

Latin and English were used initially, and then, from 1778, the official language for passports was French, the language used for diplomacy. In 1920, the text needed to be in 2 languages as long as French was one of them, and later, a second language of either French, English or Spanish was recommended.

Question 4

Why do many Muslim countries use green passports?

C. This is because green is considered to be the favourite colour of the Prophet Mohammed.

Question 5

What is the colour of the new British passport?

A. Blue

B. Black

The official answer is Blue, a very dark blue. It is so dark that I thought it was black, and so do many other people. So, if you said Black, I think you can get a point as well because no matter what light I see the new passport in, it still looks black to me.

Question 6

What is the most common passport colour?

D. Blue

Eighty-four countries have blue passports.

Question 7

Do all standard passports across the world have the same number of blank pages?

B. No

In the UK, the standard passport is 34 pages, but in the United States, it is 28, with only 17 blank pages for visa stamps. You can opt for passports with more pages if you plan to travel a lot.

Question 8

Which country is the first to use 3M™ Colour Floating Image technology in its passports?

B. Australia

Embossed on the Australian passport is a kangaroo and an emu. If you tilt the pages under a UV light, the image of five pairs of red and blue kangaroos appears to jump off the page.

Question 9

Which countries have passports that you could use as a flipbook; if you flick the pages, the image moves.

B.Finland and Slovenia

Finland’s passport had a moose, but snowflakes have replaced it.

Slovenia has a horse and a rider galloping across the side of its pages.

Question 10

Which of these images does not feature on the new UK passport?

A. Buckingham Palace

The new passport shows the creative sector, art, architecture, innovation, and performances from Great Britain, but Buckingham Palace is omitted.

So how did you do?