How does the US compare to other countries?

Question

Percent of Population Obese	Number of Countries
20.45-29.45	11
29.45-38.45	4
38.45-47.45	1
47.45-56.45	3
56.45-65.45	1
65.45-74.45	1
74.45-83.45	1

Average obesity %- 25.49

Since the average for the US is 33.9%, compared to the average obesity rate of 25.49%, the US has an obesity rate 8.41% higher than average. 

c) How does the US compare to other countries? (Assume the US is included in the date. Assume the other countries in the range 29.45-38.45 have higher obesity than the US)

1. The US has an obesity rate equal to about 80% of the other countries listed.
2. The US has an obesity rate lower than about 50% of the other countries listed.
3. The US has an obesity rate higher than about 80% of the other countries listed.
4. The US has an obesity rate higher than about 20% of the other countries listed.

Answer 1

If the US average is 33.9%, then the US is in the second bracket (29.45-38.45). We are told to assume the other countries in the bracket have higher obesity than the US.

Therefore we know the other 3 countries are higher than the US.

There are five brackets that contain numbers that are all higher than the 33.9% of the US.

The sum of all the countries in those brackets :1+3+1+1+1=7

Add that to the 3 from the bracket the US is in and we get:3+7=10 countries who have a higher obesity rate than the US.

There is only 1 bracket that contains numbers lower than the US, and that bracket contains 11 countries.

So if 11 countries have lower obesity rates, and 10 countries have higher rates, the correct answer is:

The US has an obesity rate lower than about 50% of the other countries listed. (number 2).