Do I need facts about other countries in Part 3?
No. The four criteria are language criteria, and none checks whether your description of another country is accurate. What the examiner can assess is whether you answer, support the claim, and mark how far it goes.
No. The four criteria are language criteria, and none checks whether your description of another country is accurate. What the examiner can assess is whether you answer, support the claim, and mark how far it goes. I have never lived there, but from what I have read is stronger than an invented statistic.
If the question names a country you know nothing about, answer about the mechanism instead of the place: working hours, housing, climate and school schedules explain most differences, and the examiner is judging your reasoning, not your geography. Say once that your evidence is limited, then stop apologising. Repeating "I am not sure" in every sentence costs fluency, while one clear hedge followed by a confident continuation does not.
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Comparing Your Country With Other Countries →