Britons can name 'EastEnders' but not world leaders

Half of all British adults can name five characters from EastEnders, but only one in 10 can name five current world leaders, a survey reveals today.

George Bush and Tony Blair are by far the best-known statesmen, followed by the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. But less than half the population can name three or more world leaders, according to the poll, for Whitaker's Almanac.

Only 10 per cent of people can name five members of the Cabinet and more than 40 per cent can name no Cabinet ministers at all. But, 46 per cent of people can name at least five members of the cast of EastEnders, with women knowing more about the BBC1 soap opera than men.

Lauren Hill, editor of the Almanac, said she was "appalled" by the level of ignorance on current affairs and the extent to which Britain was "dumbing down".

She said: "With major political and international events continuously on the news agenda, important figureheads should be at the forefront of our minds. At a time when much of the British population has become fanatical about celebrities, we believe that the Government has a major role to play in encouraging people to become more interested in current affairs."

The poll shows that 86 per cent of adults watch some form of soap opera or sitcom in an average week. But the equivalent of 4.32 million adults do not watch, listen to or read any news items and half the population spends one hour or less a day absorbing current affairs.

When asked to name world leaders, Mr Blair and President Bush were most frequently cited, followed by Saddam Hussein. Other statesmen recalled were the French President Jacques Chirac, the Russian premier Vladimir Putin, Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe, Gerhard Schröder of Germany and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Mr Blair, John Prescott and Gordon Brown were the most frequently named Cabinet members. Phil Mitchell, Mark Fowler and Pauline Fowler were the most commonly-named characters from EastEnders.