With all the serious issues we face daily, we can use some froth now and then. And here’s a dollop, although I have to admit I found it interesting in a sociological way, of sorts.
When I travel I observe people, both men and women, as closely as I do the scenery. I’ve marveled at the varied traits of people throughout the world, going about their lives in differing circumstances: Noticing differing traits — height, eye color, hair styles, gestures, dress — is one part of what makes traveling to a new place interesting.
Yes, everyone is beautiful in their own right, and standards differ. But pageants are a reality around the world, part of many countries’ customs. I do get it, so please don’t get on me for objectifying women as I report this. But for fun, money.co.uk has looked at the birthplaces of over 500 international pageant winners around the world, including winners of Miss World, Miss Universe, Mr Gay World, and many other pageants.
Noting beauty pageant winners, those literally crowned “the most beautiful people” in the world, are there some countries that can be named “more beautiful” than the rest? And does birthplace play a major role in your likelihood of winning a beauty contest?
The company compared winners’ birthplaces to find out which countries appeared on the list more than others. Here are some samples; to view the full results please click here. (Suggestion: this knowledge might get you a win in a trivia game.)
Top 10 “Most Beautiful” Countries: Rank, Country of Birth, Number of Pageant Winners
1 — United States, 61; 2 —Venezuela, 35; 3 — Brazil, 26; 4 — United Kingdom, 25; 5 — Philippines, 23; 6 — Australia, 19; 7 — Colombia, 19; 8 — Thailand, 19; 9 — South Africa, 18; 10 — Spain, 18
The USA tops the list as home to 61 international pageant winners, almost double the number of winners compared to the second-place country, Venezuela.
The USA is also the birthplace of the highest number of LGBTQ+ pageant winners, with a total of 19 LGBTQ+ pageant winners being born in the country.
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Top 10 ‘Most Beautiful” Cities: Rank, City of Birth, Country of birth, Number of Pageant Winners
1— Caracas, Venezuela, 10; 2 — Bangkok, Thailand, 7; 3 — Sydney, Australia, 6; 3 — Turku, Finland, 6; 5 — Maracaibo, Venezuela, 5; 5 — Manila, Philippines, 5; 5 — San Juan, Puerto Rico, 5
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Top States with Beauty Winners in the USA
According to the number of U.S. pageant winners, Texas and California tie in first place, both home to 9 pageant winners/runners up each. However, Texas had a larger share of winners compared to runners up:
Texas, California, Hawaii, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, District of Columbia
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