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Despite sharing a language, history, and a similar worldview, Brits and Americans tend to emphasize their differences. The stereotypes are familiar: Americans are loud and overweight, unable to grasp sarcasm. Brits supposedly have poor teeth, obsess over social class, and struggle with drinking habits. How amusingly distinct we all appear to be.
However, science tells a different story. Rather than being defined by their differences, a closer look reveals that Brits and Americans are much more alike than we often think.
10. Americans Are Overweight, Brits Are Healthier
One stereotype about the US that never seems to fade is that all Americans are horribly overweight. Ask most Brits to describe a typical American tourist, and the word 'fat' is almost always the first one to come up.
There’s a reason this stereotype persists. Government statistics reveal that a staggering number of Americans are classified as obese, with even more falling into the 'overweight' category. However, Brits would be fooling themselves if they thought they were any different. A 2014 study revealed that Britain ranks as one of the fattest countries in the Western world.
When compared to its European neighbors, Britain stands out as particularly overweight. Only Iceland and Malta consistently have higher obesity rates, although British men are slimmer than their Greek and Cypriot counterparts.
While 66% of Americans are overweight or obese, the situation isn't much different across the Atlantic. In the UK, 62% of the population falls into these categories, putting them on par with Australia. In comparison, only 57% of Germans are overweight or obese, and over half of the French population remains underweight to average size.
9. Americans Have Perfect Teeth, Brits Have The Worst
Let's shift from one negative stereotype about Americans to another one about the British. The notion that Brits have shockingly bad teeth fuels nearly every comic portrayal of UK culture. As demonstrated in the video above, even The Simpsons jumped on this familiar bandwagon.
Earlier, we pointed out that British teeth are actually in much better shape than those of their European neighbors. But this isn’t just a European problem where everyone’s teeth are poor. In fact, British oral hygiene often outpaces that of Americans.
OECD data reveals that American children, on average, have 1.3 decayed or missing teeth by the age of 12. In comparison, British children only have 0.7. This ranks the UK as one of the best in the world for oral hygiene, tied with Denmark and Luxembourg.
That said, the stereotype does have some historical foundation. Back in 1963, British children were missing an average of 5.6 teeth, and by 1978, over a third of adults in Wales had no natural teeth left. However, fast-forward to today, and this stereotype is due for retirement. Brits now have one of the highest rates of dental visits across all of Europe.
8. Brits Love Tea, Americans Are Obsessed With Coffee
Few things emphasize the cultural divide between Brits and Americans like their national beverages. While ambitious Americans drink more coffee than any other country, the genteel Brits unwind with a classic afternoon tea.
That used to be the case, but new studies reveal that many Americans are losing their love for coffee. Instead, they’re turning to tea in growing numbers.
In 2014, the US imported more tons of tea than Britain for the first time in modern history. (Yes, the US has a larger population, but the trend is clear: they’re catching up.) Among younger people, tea is rapidly becoming the go-to drink. A recent YouGov survey showed that 18- to 29-year-olds are equally divided between tea and coffee, with 42% preferring each. In contrast, 70% of those over 65 would rather sip on coffee.
Of course, the US still has some ground to cover compared to the UK. In terms of per capita tea consumption, only Turkey and Ireland surpass the British. But change is on the horizon, particularly among the younger crowd. Another YouGov survey found that only 39% of 18- to 24-year-old Brits consider tea their drink of choice, which is actually lower than their American counterparts.
7. Brits Are More Violent, Americans Less So
The classic stereotype of a British man used to involve a sharply dressed guy in a bowler hat, who would wound you with his biting wit while sipping tea. Today, it’s more likely to be a drunken soccer hooligan throwing punches while desperately trying to hold back his lunch. While America may have more murders, many still see British society as significantly more violent—often estimating it to be five to eight times more violent, if we’re to be specific.
The government statistics seem to support this perception. In 2010, the FBI recorded 403 violent crimes per 100,000 people in the US. Meanwhile, the UK Home Office reported a staggering 1,797 offenses per 100,000 people in the same year. At first glance, that’s a huge gap, but the two countries define “violent crime” in very different ways, making the numbers difficult to compare.
The FBI only includes four types of violent crime: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. On the other hand, the UK counts all those, plus simple assault without injury, all sexual offenses (of which forcible rape makes up just 25%), harassment, and “causing public fear, alarm or distress.” In 2010, more than half of the recorded crimes against people in the UK didn’t involve any injury. The FBI would never include such cases in its reports.
When people try to compare UK crimes by FBI standards, they generally conclude that Britain is not significantly more violent than the US, and may even be slightly less violent. While it's impossible to give a precise answer, UK assault rates could be anywhere from three times higher than in the US to less than half. Meanwhile, the US has a murder rate that’s 300 percent higher than Britain’s, and the rape rate could be up to 8 percent higher.
6. Americans Are Clueless About Sarcasm
The British are renowned for their skill with sarcasm and irony. A typical conversation between Brits is likely to be filled with more biting irony than an entire run of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Nothing excites the British more than showcasing their expert use of sarcastic humor to outwit unsuspecting Americans who mistakenly believe they’re being sincere.
In reality, the situation is more complex. The majority of Americans fully understand and appreciate both irony and sarcasm. They’re simply more selective about when they use it.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, sarcasm is woven into every part of modern American life. It shows up in movies, TV shows, interviews, and everyday conversations. In fact, it’s so ingrained in American culture that it can be difficult to function socially without a good grasp of sarcasm. The key difference is that Americans tend to use sarcasm less frequently and with less dryness compared to the British.
So where did this myth originate? Part of the answer might lie in how sarcasm and irony are perceived in different parts of the United States. While 56 percent of Northerners and a majority of New Yorkers find sarcasm amusing and a quality to be admired, only 35 percent of Southerners share that sentiment. It’s not that they don’t understand it; they just might not consider it fitting for certain situations.
5. Americans Are Often Seen As Militaristic
After years of military involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, much of Europe views America as the eager conqueror of the world. Even the British, whose government followed the US into Iraq, frequently associate “American” with “warmonger.”
However, when it comes to attitudes, the two nations have more in common than they do differences. While Brits may be less inclined to openly show their patriotism in a conflict like Iraq, their stance on the use of force closely mirrors that of the Americans.
In a global attitudes survey, Pew Research International aimed to explore the value gap between America and Europe. While they discovered significant differences between the US and UK on issues such as the role of the state and the importance of religion, their opinions on military intervention were strikingly similar. Around 75 percent of Americans agreed that 'it is sometimes necessary to use military force to maintain order in the world,' compared to 70 percent of Brits.
On the other hand, only 62 percent of French and Spaniards, and 50 percent of Germans, shared this view. This doesn’t necessarily mean this value alignment directly translates to policy decisions—the UK’s proposal to join Obama in bombing Assad’s forces was voted down in 2013—but when it comes to mindset, the two countries are quite similar.
4. The UK Struggles with Class, While America Is Thought to Have No Class
If there’s one thing Americans are aware of about British culture, it’s that class matters above all else. In contrast to the American dream, Britain seems like a rigid relic, where the circumstances of your birth may determine whether you end up ruling Downton Abbey or quietly cleaning its kitchens.
Class is undoubtedly a major issue in the UK. Social mobility is arguably the worst in the Western world, with a staggering 50 percent of a father’s financial advantages and disadvantages being passed down to his son (compared to just 15 percent in Denmark). However, the situation in America isn’t much better. Those born into the poorest 20 percent of American households have only an 8 percent chance of ever reaching the wealthiest fifth. Conversely, those born into wealth have a 1 in 3 chance of remaining there, regardless of their actions.
Contrary to what many Americans think, class in the US is deeply entrenched. You might have a better chance of achieving the American dream by relocating to countries like Canada, Germany, France, or Australia than by staying in the US. While the class system may not carry the same historical weight as in Britain, it is nearly as rigid in the early 21st century.
3. Both Brits and Americans Are Terrible Tourists
We often harbor negative stereotypes about other countries, but oddly, tourism isn’t an exception. Both Americans and Brits openly admit to being the world’s worst tourists.
It’s not hard to understand why. For Americans, the image of a loud, obnoxious man in a baseball cap who stubbornly refuses to acknowledge or respect local cultures is enough to make most people cringe. For Brits, the image of drunkards vomiting on Spanish beaches while insulting waiters in English is equally disheartening. But which nationality fares worse? Here’s the good news: According to the rest of the world, we’re equally as bad.
Polls about the world’s worst tourists typically end with either Americans or Brits topping the list. While the French and Germans occasionally make an appearance, no other nations are as heavily represented. Whether the title switches between the two sides of the Atlantic depends on the poll, but one thing is clear: both of us are the worst. Uh…yay?
2. British Leftists Are More Progressive Than Their American Counterparts
On the liberal side of American politics, many people lament the lack of truly left-wing options, often describing the Democrats as merely a lighter version of the Republicans. Many left-leaning Americans dream of living somewhere like Britain, where the opposition is truly liberal.
After the election of far-left Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the Labour Party in September 2015, this view seems to hold some weight. But for many years prior, the left-wing Labour Party wasn’t particularly progressive. During the Bush administration, they were actually more conservative than the Democrats on several key issues.
In 2008, The Economist commissioned a set of polls to gauge how British voters aligned with their US counterparts. While even conservative Brits held more liberal values, Labour supporters surprisingly had hawkish tendencies. When it came to military intervention, they showed significantly more support for action than the Democrats. They were also notably more right-wing than Democratic voters on climate change.
More recently, the Labour party has embraced some right-wing policies. In May 2015, under Ed Miliband's leadership, they entered the election with a pledge for very strict immigration controls. British left-wingers, far from being radical progressives, often find themselves aligned with the political center, much like their American counterparts.
1. US Politics Is Chaotic, UK Politics Is Rational
Compared to the blunt remarks, spectacle, and deep polarization that define US politics, British politics might appear as a calm retreat. During the last UK general election, Jon Stewart praised the more neutral tone of UK politics. If you ask most Brits, they’d likely tell you that American politics is dominated by religious extremists.
While US politics may indeed be more brash than its British counterpart, Brits are deluding themselves if they think they’re free from Trump-like figures or extreme Christian fundamentalism. The UK even shares the same partisan media landscape and race-baiting rhetoric that marks the worst of American election seasons.
In January 2014, a councillor from the UK Independence Party, a libertarian group, suggested that the flooding in the UK was a divine punishment directed at David Cameron for legalizing gay marriage. Party members have publicly expressed their discomfort with the faces of black people, and one even urged a well-known black comedian to move to a “black country.” The party also has its own version of Donald Trump: Nigel Farage, who blames immigration for traffic jams and once asserted that foreigners were responsible for bringing HIV to England.
The UK media is similarly highly partisan. During the 2015 UK elections, Obama’s former campaign adviser claimed that UK newspapers are even more partisan than American outlets like Fox or MSNBC. The Telegraph fabricated a list of businesses it accused of being anti-Labour, publishing it without consulting those listed, many of whom requested removal. The Sun published so many critical articles that 95 percent of its coverage was considered anti-Labour. The Daily Mail even did a smear piece on the late Holocaust survivor father of the Labour leader at the time, accusing him of “hating Britain.”
While this kind of politics may not always be as prominent in the UK as it is in the US, to suggest that British politics is entirely composed of reasoned and sensible discourse is a gross misunderstanding.
