Very High
1 Iceland 🇮🇸
2 New Zealand 🇳🇿
3 Denmark 🇩🇰
4 Portugal 🇵🇹
5 Slovenia 🇸🇮
6 Austria 🇦🇹
7 Switzerland 🇨🇭
8 Ireland 🇮🇪
9 Czechia 🇨🇿
10 Canada 🇨🇦
11 Singapore 🇸🇬
12 Japan 🇯🇵
13 Finland 🇫🇮
14 Norway 🇳🇴
Category: Serbia 🇷🇸
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) on July 10, 2020 at it’s meeting in Paris, designated 15 new Geoparks. There are now 162 designated sites across 44 countries.
UNESCO said »
These sites of exceptional geological and cultural significance showcase the beauty and diversity of planet Earth. Today 162 sites across the world document our planet’s evolution over 4.6 billion years, unlocking our history preserved in the rock record to learn from the past and support local communities.
- Cliffs of Fundy UNESCO Global Geopark in Nova Scotia, Canada (Twitter)
- Discovery UNESCO Global Geopark, Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador (Twitter)
- Xiangxi UNESCO Global Geopark, in Hunan Province, China
- Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark, in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, China
- Lauhanvuori-Hämeenkangas UNESCO Global Geopark in Finland (Twitter)
- Toba Caldera UNESCO Global Geopark, on Sumatra Island, Indonesia
- Rio Coco UNESCO Global Geopark, in Nicaragua
- Estrela UNESCO Global Geopark, in Portugal (Twitter)
- Hantangang UNESCO Global Geopark, in Korea
- Yangan-Tau UNESCO Global Geopark, in Republic of Bashkortostan, Russian Federation
- Djerdap UNESCO Global Geopark, in Serbia
- Granada UNESCO Global Geopark, in Spain (Twitter)
- Maestrazgo UNESCO Global Geopark, in Spain
- The Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark, in England, UK (Twitter)
- Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark, in Dak Nong Province, Viet Nam
- Kula-Salihli UNESCO Global Geopark, in the Aegean Region of Turkey (Twitter)
More » UNESCO
More » Wikipedia entry for UNESCO Global Geoparks
For Switzerland, the 2020 ranking is the the fourth consecutive yearhas been judged No. 1 by residents of 36 countries. Canada was chosen second, overtaking Japan in the U.S. News’ fifth annual survey.
The Best Countries report, produced from an annual global survey of more than 20,000 people in 36 countries including the United States, reflects increasingly negative views of the world and within countries. Nearly half of survey respondents say conditions around the world have worsened in the past year. Likewise, an increased percentage of people say the gap between the rich and poor has grown and that nationalism is increasing.
According to the ranking, here are the Top 25 Countries in the World
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Japan
- Germany
- Australia
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Norway
- New Zealand
- France
- Denmark
- Finland
- China
- Singapore
- Italy
- Austria
- Spain
- South Korea
- Luxembourg
- United Arab Emirates
- Russia
- Portugal
- India
The Bottom 5 of the U.S. News 2020 Best Countries rankings are
- Lebanon
- Serbia
- Oman
- Belarus
- Tunisia
Landlocked countries shown in Green. Double landlocked are shown in Purple
The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently released their annual Tourism Highlights report which tracks international tourist arrivals.
Here is a list of the European countries with the least international tourist arrivals (Some, I imagine, is simply due to their size):
- San Marino – 60,000
- Liechtenstein – 69,000
- Moldova – 121,000
- Monaco – 336,000
- Macedonia – 510,000
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – 777,000
- Luxembourg – 1,054,000
- Armenia – 1,260,000
- Serbia – 1,281,000
- Montenegro – 1,662,000
Of note, the UNWTO did not publish the data for Belarus and Slovakia.