8 myths about different countries that locals are fed up with

We are used to forming our opinion about countries based on movies, news, and stories from friends. But we usually do not even pay attention to the fact that the films are fantastic, the news is biased, and your friends' week-long trip is not enough to form an objective opinion about a foreign country.

This is why many of the things we think we know about other countries are either false or exaggerated. We are ready to destroy some of the popular myths about other countries.

8 PHOTOS

1. China is the most populous country.

Most of the people in the world live in China, but it is not the most populous country. For example, Germany and Italy are more densely populated.

2. Sumo is the most popular sport in Japan.

In recent years, this traditional sport has become popular again. However, sumo is less common than baseball. Half of the people who play sports love baseball the most.

3. India is a country of Buddhists.

More than 80% of religious people in India are Hindu. The second most widespread religion is Islam. Less than 1% of people are Buddhists and most of them live in the northern regions close to Tibet.

4. All UAE citizens are incredibly wealthy.

As a rule, the indigenous people are actually quite wealthy. But about 85% of the people there are immigrants, and even about 2/3 of the Arabs who live in the UAE are from neighboring countries.

5. Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro was the capital for almost 200 years, but in 1960 the capital was moved to Brasilia, the city that was founded for this purpose. Today Rio is not even the largest city, São Paulo is much larger.

6. Bullfighting is the most popular entertainment in Spain.

Bullfights are still held in many cities in Spain, but their popularity is not so high. Most of the people who attend the show are tourists. Under pressure from activists, the Catalan parliament has banned bullfighting in the area, including Barcelona.

7. Romania is a country of gypsies.

Firstly, Romanians and Gypsies have different origins and speak completely different languages. Romanians are Europeans and their language is close to Italian and Spanish. Gypsies are descendants of Indian aborigines. Secondly, there is only 3% of Roma in Romania.

8. Chili peppers are named after a South American country.

The ancient Aztecs, who lived in the territory of modern Mexico, gave the name to this hot pepper. The state of Chile is located far from Mexico and was inhabited by different people who spoke a different languages.