Which Countries Have the Most UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

Some countries have a few famous landmarks. Others feel like entire open-air museums — ancient cities, temples, cathedrals, landscapes, ruins, palaces and natural wonders packed into one national map. This ranking compares countries by the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites credited to them, counting cultural, natural and mixed sites together. Italy leads with 61 sites, just ahead of China with 60, followed by Germany, France, Spain, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Russia, Iran, Japan, the United States and other countries with deep World Heritage lists. This is not a ranking by tourism, country size, age, beauty, visitor numbers or cultural importance. Shared transnational sites are credited to each participating country, so country totals are higher than the unique global number of UNESCO properties. Watch the full board and tell me which country’s total surprised you most. 'Rites of Passage' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au 'Starfire' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au 'Phoenix' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au #UNESCO #WorldHeritage #Geography #History #Landmarks #CountryRanking #RankAtlas