Indonesia has been named the most beautiful country in the world out of a list of 50 countries, based on an analysis conducted by a British site, money.co.uk, and released on 7th February.
In the description on the site, each country is analysed based on seven factors, which are:
- Volcanoes
- Mountains
- Coral reefs
- Protected areas
- Coastlines
- Rainforests
- Glaciers
Each factor is calculated per 100,000 square km using land area figures sourced from the World Bank. The information is then assigned a normalised score of 10 for each factor before the average score across all seven factors is taken.
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Indonesia – score 7.77/10
Indonesia is the most beautiful country in the world because it is home to more than 17,000 islands, which means it has more than 50,000 km of coastline.
“Off the coasts of these islands, there are coral reefs teeming with life, most of which can be explored, including Bali as a popular tourist destination,” the authors wrote.
Destinations that offer natural beauty such as tropical forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan – including orangutan reserves – and a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Komodo National Park are also put in the spotlight.
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New Zealand – score 7.27/10
After Indonesia, New Zealand is the second most beautiful country in the world. The authors emphasised that New Zealand is home to rolling hills, sharp mountain peaks including the Southern Alps, and a number of active volcanoes.
New Zealand also has a high number of glaciers, with more than 5,000 per 100,000 square km and a long coastline of more than 15,000 square km.
“With such a diverse landscape, thousands of people flock to New Zealand to experience its natural wonders for themselves. In fact, many movies and TV shows have chosen it as a shooting location to replace fantastic locations like The Lord of the Rings,” said the authors.
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Colombia – score 7.16/10
Colombia is the third most beautiful country in the world. Just like Indonesia and New Zealand, Colombia has a long coastline, especially along the Caribbean coast.
Not only that, but Colombia also has a very varied landscape, from the Andes mountains to the Amazon rainforest. “Colombia scores very highly because it is home to 500,000 square km of tropical forest,” the authors added.
Apart from these three countries, here are other countries that occupy the top 10 list of the most beautiful countries in the world.
- Tanzania – 6.98/10
- Mexico – 6.96/10
- Kenya – 6.70/10
- India – 6.54/10
- France – 6.51/10
- Papua New Guinea – 6.39/10
- Comoros – 6.22/10