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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but often what is considered beautiful can be agreed upon by many, even most, people. Such stupendous destinations like the Grand Canyon are nearly unanimously considered beautiful. Travelers often visit attractions that are known for their beauty, though not that many visit the most beautiful country in the world, Indonesia.
Comparison site money.co.uk’s recently released Natural Beauty Report, which ranked countries by how “Beautiful” they are. It made the report as objective as possible, or at least used a number of reasonable yardsticks. Each of the seven factors used was based on its presence per 100,000 kilometers. (A kilometer is 0.62 miles.) The seven factors included volcanos, mountains, coral reefs, protected areas, coastlines, rainforests, and glaciers. Perhaps it is not reasonable that no human-made factors were included.
The data was pulled from the Oregon State University’s Volcano Table, World Ultras Homepage, UNEP World Atlas of Coral Reefs, Protected Planet, City Population, Mongabay and GLIMS (Global Land Ice Measurements from Space). Only countries listed by the World Bank were considered. (These are the most popular countries on CDC’s do not travel list.)
The report points out: “While many of the countries in the top 50 are smaller nations (often collections of islands), a number of larger tourist destinations make the grade too, including the United States, France, Australia, Norway and Thailand.”
24/7 Tempo reviewed the report to find the most beautiful country in the world. The maximum score available was 10.
The top spot was taken by Indonesia, with a score of 7.77. Unfortunately, very few people go there, compared to most other countries. According to the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, it ranks 40th out of 140 countries, with 12.9 million international tourist arrivals. Spain tops that list with 81.9 million tourists. (While Indonesia is the most beautiful country, this is the world’s safest country.)
Click here to see this Is the most beautiful country in the world
50. Sweden
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.06
> Land area (miles squared): 157,263
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 2 (1.27 per 100k miles sq. — 9th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 20,930 (13,309 per 100k miles sq. — 6th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 2,000 (1,271 per 100k miles sq. — 21st lowest)
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49. Panama
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.09
> Land area (miles squared): 28,640
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 2 (6.98 per 100k miles sq. — 24th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 114 (398 per 100k miles sq. — 25th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,547 (5,402 per 100k miles sq. — 19th highest)
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48. Haiti
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.11
> Land area (miles squared): 10,641
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 1 (9.40 per 100k miles sq. — 20th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 27 (254 per 100k miles sq. — 20th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,100 (10,342 per 100k miles sq. — 16th highest)
47. Northern Mariana Islands
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.12
> Land area (miles squared): 178
> Ultra-prominent mountains: N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 32 (18,017 per 100k miles sq. — 4th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 921 (518,489 per 100k miles sq. — the highest)
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46. Switzerland
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.19
> Land area (miles squared): 15,257
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 8 (52.43 per 100k miles sq. — 4th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 10,772 (70,603 per 100k miles sq. — the highest)
> Coastline length (miles): N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 3rd lowest)
45. Dominican Republic
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.27
> Land area (miles squared): 18,653
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 3 (16.08 per 100k miles sq. — 14th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 147 (788 per 100k miles sq. — 22nd highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 800 (4,291 per 100k miles sq. — 21st highest)
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44. Russia
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.29
> Land area (miles squared): 6,323,142
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 65 (1.03 per 100k miles sq. — 8th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 8,987 (142 per 100k miles sq. — 15th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 23,396 (370 per 100k miles sq. — 11th lowest)
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43. Iceland
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.31
> Land area (miles squared): 38,931
> Ultra-prominent mountains: N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 144 (370 per 100k miles sq. — 22nd lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 3,088 (7,933 per 100k miles sq. — 18th highest)
42. Uganda
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.34
> Land area (miles squared): 77,421
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 4 (5.17 per 100k miles sq. — 25th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 711 (918 per 100k miles sq. — 19th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 3rd lowest)
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41. Myanmar
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.46
> Land area (miles squared): 252,044
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 18 (7.14 per 100k miles sq. — 23rd highest)
> No. of protected areas: 53 (21 per 100k miles sq. — 3rd lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,199 (476 per 100k miles sq. — 14th lowest)
39. Venezuela
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.55
> Land area (miles squared): 340,561
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 16 (4.70 per 100k miles sq. — 21st lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 290 (85 per 100k miles sq. — 11th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,740 (511 per 100k miles sq. — 15th lowest)
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39. El Salvador
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.55
> Land area (miles squared): 8,000
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 3 (37.50 per 100k miles sq. — 5th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 202 (2,525 per 100k miles sq. — 16th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 191 (2,385 per 100k miles sq. — 25th highest)
38. Thailand
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.65
> Land area (miles squared): 197,256
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 6 (3.04 per 100k miles sq. — 12th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 246 (125 per 100k miles sq. — 14th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 2,000 (1,014 per 100k miles sq. — 19th lowest)
37. Greece
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.71
> Land area (miles squared): 49,769
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 18 (36.17 per 100k miles sq. — 6th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 1,289 (2,590 per 100k miles sq. — 15th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 8,498 (17,075 per 100k miles sq. — 13th highest)
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36. Cape Verde
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.74
> Land area (miles squared): 1,556
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 2 (128.54 per 100k miles sq. — 2nd highest)
> No. of protected areas: 7 (450 per 100k miles sq. — 24th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 600 (38,536 per 100k miles sq. — 5th highest)
35. Jamaica
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.81
> Land area (miles squared): 4,181
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 1 (23.91 per 100k miles sq. — 9th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 154 (3,683 per 100k miles sq. — 11th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 635 (15,187 per 100k miles sq. — 14th highest)
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34. Eritrea
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.83
> Land area (miles squared): 38,996
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 2 (5.13 per 100k miles sq. — 24th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 11 (28 per 100k miles sq. — 4th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,388 (3,560 per 100k miles sq. — 24th highest)
33. Nicaragua
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 4.91
> Land area (miles squared): 46,464
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 2 (4.30 per 100k miles sq. — 19th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 84 (181 per 100k miles sq. — 17th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 565 (1,217 per 100k miles sq. — 20th lowest)
32. Bolivia
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.02
> Land area (miles squared): 418,264
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 15 (3.59 per 100k miles sq. — 15th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 167 (40 per 100k miles sq. — 7th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 3rd lowest)
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31. Samoa
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.09
> Land area (miles squared): 1,093
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 1 (91.52 per 100k miles sq. — 3rd highest)
> No. of protected areas: 99 (9,060 per 100k miles sq. — 9th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 250 (22,918 per 100k miles sq. — 11th highest)
30. China
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.13
> Land area (miles squared): 3,638,897
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 178 (4.89 per 100k miles sq. — 22nd lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 122 (03 per 100k miles sq. — the lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 9,010 (248 per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
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29. Chile
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.15
> Land area (miles squared): 287,079
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 78 (27.17 per 100k miles sq. — 7th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 222 (77 per 100k miles sq. — 10th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 3,999 (1,393 per 100k miles sq. — 22nd lowest)
28. Saint Kitts & Nevis
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.30
> Land area (miles squared): 100
> Ultra-prominent mountains: N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 10 (9,961 per 100k miles sq. — 8th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 84 (83,562 per 100k miles sq. — 3rd highest)
27. Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.33
> Land area (miles squared): 151
> Ultra-prominent mountains: N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 55 (36,525 per 100k miles sq. — 3rd highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 52 (34,663 per 100k miles sq. — 7th highest)
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26. Iran
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.37
> Land area (miles squared): 628,867
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 54 (8.59 per 100k miles sq. — 21st highest)
> No. of protected areas: 185 (29 per 100k miles sq. — 5th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,516 (241 per 100k miles sq. — 5th lowest)
24. Malaysia
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.39
> Land area (miles squared): 126,854
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 10 (7.88 per 100k miles sq. — 22nd highest)
> No. of protected areas: 528 (416 per 100k miles sq. — 25th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 2,905 (2,290 per 100k miles sq. — 25th lowest)
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24. Tonga
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.39
> Land area (miles squared): 278
> Ultra-prominent mountains: N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 50 (17,986 per 100k miles sq. — 5th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 260 (93,655 per 100k miles sq. — 2nd highest)
23. Grenada
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.43
> Land area (miles squared): 131
> Ultra-prominent mountains: N/A (N/A per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 49 (37,326 per 100k miles sq. — 2nd highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 75 (57,274 per 100k miles sq. — 4th highest)
22. Argentina
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.60
> Land area (miles squared): 1,056,641
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 58 (5.49 per 100k miles sq. — 25th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 463 (44 per 100k miles sq. — 8th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 3,100 (293 per 100k miles sq. — 8th lowest)
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21. Norway
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.62
> Land area (miles squared): 140,969
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 4 (2.84 per 100k miles sq. — 11th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 3,878 (2,751 per 100k miles sq. — 13th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 51,748 (36,709 per 100k miles sq. — 6th highest)
19. Australia
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.65 (tie)
> Land area (miles squared): 2,969,904
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 3 (0.10 per 100k miles sq. — 7th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 11,149 (375 per 100k miles sq. — 23rd lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 16,129 (543 per 100k miles sq. — 16th lowest)
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19. Costa Rica
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.65 (tie)
> Land area (miles squared): 19,714
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 3 (15.22 per 100k miles sq. — 16th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 165 (837 per 100k miles sq. — 21st highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 802 (4,066 per 100k miles sq. — 23rd highest)
18. Peru
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.66
> Land area (miles squared): 494,211
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 22 (4.45 per 100k miles sq. — 20th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 264 (53 per 100k miles sq. — 9th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,500 (304 per 100k miles sq. — 9th lowest)
17. Philippines
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.80
> Land area (miles squared): 115,124
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 29 (25.19 per 100k miles sq. — 8th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 451 (392 per 100k miles sq. — 24th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 22,549 (19,587 per 100k miles sq. — 12th highest)
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16. Italy
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.87
> Land area (miles squared): 114,954
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 21 (18.27 per 100k miles sq. — 12th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 3,948 (3,434 per 100k miles sq. — 12th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 4,722 (4,108 per 100k miles sq. — 22nd highest)
15. Solomon Islands
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 5.97
> Land area (miles squared): 10,807
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 2 (18.51 per 100k miles sq. — 11th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 92 (851 per 100k miles sq. — 20th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 3,301 (30,548 per 100k miles sq. — 9th highest)
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14. Japan
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6
> Land area (miles squared): 140,734
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 21 (14.92 per 100k miles sq. — 17th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 5,617 (3,991 per 100k miles sq. — 10th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 18,486 (13,136 per 100k miles sq. — 15th highest)
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13. Vanuatu
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.02
> Land area (miles squared): 4,707
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 1 (21.25 per 100k miles sq. — 10th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 34 (722 per 100k miles sq. — 23rd highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,571 (33,375 per 100k miles sq. — 8th highest)
12. United States
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.03
> Land area (miles squared): 3,531,837
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 127 (3.60 per 100k miles sq. — 16th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 42,826 (1,213 per 100k miles sq. — 18th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 12,380 (351 per 100k miles sq. — 10th lowest)
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11. Ecuador
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.09
> Land area (miles squared): 95,892
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 15 (15.64 per 100k miles sq. — 15th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 83 (87 per 100k miles sq. — 12th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,390 (1,450 per 100k miles sq. — 23rd lowest)
10. Comoros
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.22
> Land area (miles squared): 719
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 2 (278.34 per 100k miles sq. — the highest)
> No. of protected areas: 9 (1,253 per 100k miles sq. — 17th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 211 (29,402 per 100k miles sq. — 10th highest)
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9. Papua New Guinea
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.39
> Land area (miles squared): 174,850
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 31 (17.73 per 100k miles sq. — 13th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 57 (33 per 100k miles sq. — 6th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 3,201 (1,831 per 100k miles sq. — 24th lowest)
8. France
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.51
> Land area (miles squared): 211,413
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 9 (4.26 per 100k miles sq. — 18th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 5,549 (2,625 per 100k miles sq. — 14th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 2,129 (1,007 per 100k miles sq. — 18th lowest)
7. India
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.54
> Land area (miles squared): 1,147,955
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 44 (3.83 per 100k miles sq. — 17th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 41 (04 per 100k miles sq. — 2nd lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 4,350 (379 per 100k miles sq. — 12th lowest)
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6. Kenya
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.70
> Land area (miles squared): 219,746
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 5 (2.28 per 100k miles sq. — 10th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 411 (187 per 100k miles sq. — 18th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 333 (152 per 100k miles sq. — 4th lowest)
5. Mexico
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.96
> Land area (miles squared): 750,563
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 26 (3.46 per 100k miles sq. — 14th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 1,146 (153 per 100k miles sq. — 16th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 5,797 (772 per 100k miles sq. — 17th lowest)
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4. Tanzania
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 6.98
> Land area (miles squared): 342,009
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 11 (3.22 per 100k miles sq. — 13th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 836 (244 per 100k miles sq. — 19th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 885 (259 per 100k miles sq. — 7th lowest)
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3. Colombia
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 7.16
> Land area (miles squared): 428,380
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 22 (5.14 per 100k miles sq. — 24th lowest)
> No. of protected areas: 1,343 (314 per 100k miles sq. — 21st lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 1,993 (465 per 100k miles sq. — 13th lowest)
2. New Zealand
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 7.27
> Land area (miles squared): 101,665
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 10 (9.84 per 100k miles sq. — 19th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 10,449 (10,278 per 100k miles sq. — 7th highest)
> Coastline length (miles): 9,404 (9,250 per 100k miles sq. — 17th highest)
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1. Indonesia
> Natural beauty score (out of 10): 7.77
> Land area (miles squared): 724,914
> Ultra-prominent mountains: 86 (11.86 per 100k miles sq. — 18th highest)
> No. of protected areas: 733 (101 per 100k miles sq. — 13th lowest)
> Coastline length (miles): 33,999 (4,690 per 100k miles sq. — 20th highest)
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