---
title: "5 facts about the World Cup – and the people who are watching"
description: "Aside from the Olympics, there are few events that garner as much global coverage as the World Cup."
date: "2014-06-16"
authors:
  - name: "Michael Lipka"
    job_title: "Associate Director, Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/michael-lipka/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/06/16/5-facts-about-the-world-cup-and-the-people-who-are-watching/"
---

# 5 facts about the World Cup – and the people who are watching

![FT_14.06.12_WorldCupStadiumPhoto](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2014/06/FT_14.06.12_WorldCupStadiumPhoto.png)

Aside from the Olympics, there are few events that garner as much global coverage as the World Cup.

Of all the numbers associated with the event – 32 teams, 64 matches, [736 players](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/06/06/where-world-cup-footballers-play-during-the-regular-season/), each team’s [odds of winning](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/its-brazils-world-cup-to-lose/) – some of the biggest (with the exception of the World Cup’s [reported $11.5 billion price tag](http://online.wsj.com/articles/hope-fades-in-brazil-for-a-world-cup-economic-boost-1401242039)) are the numbers of people who will be watching.

Here are five facts about World Cup viewership in the United States and around the world:

About **3.2 billion people** around the world (roughly 46% of the global population) watched at least a minute of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa on TV in their homes, according to a [report produced for FIFA](http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/tv/01/47/32/73/2010fifaworldcupsouthafricatvaudiencereport.pdf) by the British firm KantarSport. This is slightly lower than the number of people who reportedly saw at least a minute of the 2012 London Olympics (3.6 billion), according to a [report produced for the International Olympic Committee](http://www.olympic.org/Documents/IOC_Marketing/Broadcasting/London_2012_Global_%20Broadcast_Report.pdf). Nearly 1 billion people (909.6 million) tuned in for at least a minute of the 2010 World Cup final, in which Spain defeated the Netherlands, a similar viewership number to the [London Olympics’ opening ceremonies](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/oly-ratings-day-idUSL6E8J78H620120807).

In the United States, **94.5 million people** (about 31% of the population) watched at least 20 consecutive minutes of the last World Cup, an increase of 19% over the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Compared to the U.S., World Cup host Brazil is far more interested in soccer, with 80% of the population watching at least 20 minutes of the matches in 2010.

A similar share of Americans **(28%)** said they plan to watch World Cup games this summer, according to a recent [Washington Post-ABC News survey](http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/poll-gearing-up-for-the-world-cup/2014/06/06/73d3b4da-ed24-11e3-b84b-3393a45b80f1_graphic.html), which also found that more Americans called soccer “a big bore” (28%) than said it is “exciting” (19%).

In a [Pew Research survey conducted in January](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/01/07/in-new-year-half-are-looking-forward-to-midterm-elections/), **22% of Americans** said they were “especially looking forward to” the World Cup, nearly the same share as when we asked about the 2010 World Cup in January of that year (23%). No other event mentioned in the 2014 survey found fewer people anticipating the event; more than twice as many people (51%) said they were looking forward to this fall’s midterm elections.

The world will be watching Brazil – both for this summer’s World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics – but Brazilians are skeptical about whether the world will see Brazil in a positive light. About a third **(35%)** of Brazilians said the World Cup will help their country’s international image, while roughly four-in-ten** (39%)** said it will *hurt *Brazil’s image, according to a [survey we conducted in April](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2014/06/03/chapter-3-the-world-cup-and-brazils-place-in-the-world/).