It’s a wrap for beauty contests this year and we’re capping off the year looking at the 11 best countries in beauty pageants. The recent Miss Universe blunder courtesy of host Steve Harvey broke the internet. The Family Feud host mistakenly named Miss Colombia as the winner instead of Miss Philippines. To be fair, Harvey owned up to his gaffe and correctly announced that the new Miss Universe was Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach from the Philippines.
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In the world of beauty pageants, there is such a thing as the Big Four. They are the top beauty contests that countries all over the world participate in. These include Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth. Before a delegate is crowned as a beauty queen, she needs to prove herself in different areas. She needs to showcase her beauty, confidence, and grace while wearing her national costume, evening gown, and swimsuit.
The delegate also needs to show her intelligence in answering the judges’ questions. Not only that, she needs to do it under time pressure. The candidate should be able to communicate clearly and fluently. For non-English-speaking countries, they need translators to express their thoughts. Perhaps future delegates can learn a thing or two from the 11 best countries in English proficiency.
In our list, we ranked the countries according to the number of titles they’ve won in each pageant, and the number of runners up their candidates have placed. Their rankings for each criterion were then averaged to get the final ranking. In the case of a tie, we gave more weight to the number of titles the country has gained. We’ve gathered our data from the pageant sitess Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, Miss Earth, and pageant portal Missology. Let’s find out the countries where the most beautiful people are!
11. Germany
Titles ranking: 7 (5 titles)
Runners up ranking: 9 (14 runners-up)
Average ranking: 8
Germany has a couple of Miss World (1956, 1980) and Miss International (1965, 1989) titles. They have a single Miss Universe crown, which Marlene Schmidt brought home back in 1961. Germany has yet to win a title in Miss Earth. The country has 14 runners up under their belt.
10. Sweden
Titles ranking: 6 (6 titles)
Runners up ranking: 9 (14 runners-up)
Average ranking: 7.5
Sweden has won three Miss Universe titles (1955, 1966, 1984). They’ve also brought home three Miss World titles (1951, 1952, 1977). Sweden is one of the three countries to win back to back in Miss World courtesy of Kiki Håkansson (1951) and May-Louise Flodin (1952). They have yet to win in Miss International and Miss Earth. The country has 14 runners up under its belt.
9. Puerto Rico
Titles ranking: 4 (8 titles)
Runners up ranking: 10 (11 runners-up)
Average ranking: 7
Puerto Rico may only have 11 runners-up, but they boast of five Miss Universe (1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006) titles. They have one Miss World (1975) and two Miss International titles (1987, 2014). Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres married singer Mark Anthony back in 2000 but the two divorced three years later.
8. Colombia
Titles ranking: 7 (5 titles)
Runners up ranking: 5 (22 runners-up)
Average ranking: 6
Miss Colombia made headlines this year when she was mistakenly announced as the winner in the recently concluded Miss Universe 2015. Sofia Vergara look-a-like Ariadna Gutiérrez had to relinquish the crown to the rightful winner, Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach. Colombia bagged their second Miss Universe crown last year. It would’ve been a back-to-back win for the country had Gutiérrez clinched the spot. Supporters of the two contestants have exchanged some words in defense of their respective delegates but all is well now as everybody seemed to have moved on from the fiasco. The country first won the Miss Universe back in 1958. Colombia also has three Miss International (1960, 1999, 2004) titles. They are still waiting for one of their beauties to bring home the Miss World and Miss Earth crowns.
7. United Kingdom
Titles ranking: 5 (7 titles)
Runners up ranking: 7 (20 runners-up)
Average ranking: 6
Great Britain may not have a Miss Universe title yet, but the country has five Miss World (1961, 1964, 1965, 1974, 1983) crowns. They join Sweden and India as the only three countries that have won for two consecutive years in Miss World. They’ve also bagged a couple of Miss International (1969, 1972) titles. The United Kingdom is still waiting for their first Miss Earth title. The United Kingdom is home to Miss World as it was founded in the country by Eric Morley back in 1951. It is also the longest running beauty pageant in the world.
6. India
Titles ranking: 4 (8 titles)
Runners up ranking: 8 (15 runners-up)
Average ranking: 6
India has always been a strong pageant contender with two Miss Universe (1994, 2000), five Miss World (1961, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000), and one Miss Earth (2010) titles. The country also has 15 runners up under its belt. India is home to gorgeous Bollywood actresses, so it comes as no surprise that they have a reservoir of beauties in the country.
5. Brazil
Titles ranking: 6 (6 titles)
Runners up ranking: 3 (36 runners-up)
Average ranking: 4.5
Brazil is one of the three countries to bag crowns in all four beauty pageants. They have a couple of Miss Universe (1963, 1968) and Miss Earth (2004, 2009) titles. The country also has one crown each from Miss International (1968) and Miss World (1971). For conquering the big four and being the first one to accomplish it, Brazil truly deserves its spot in the 11 best countries in beauty pageants.
4. Australia
Titles ranking: 5 (7 titles)
Runners up ranking: 4 (23 runners-up)
Average ranking: 4.5
Australia has two Miss Universe (1972, 2004), two Miss World (1968, 1972), and three Miss International (1962, 1981, 1992) titles. The country is still aiming for its first Miss Earth title. Miss Australia recently made it to the top five in the recently concluded Miss Universe 2015. However, Monika Radulovic’s stance regarding the legalization of marijuana was unclear, which probably cost her that coveted spot in the final three.
3. Philippines
Titles ranking: 3 (12 titles)
Runners up ranking: 6 (21 runners-up)
Average ranking: 4.5
The Philippines is the proud home of this year’s Miss Universe crown despite the controversial coronation of their delegate Wurtzbach. The country ended its 42-year drought with its recent win. The Philippines is also one of three countries to have titles on all four major beauty pageants. The country has three Miss Universe, one Miss World, five Miss International, and three Miss Earth crowns. The fast-rising beauty pageant contender also has 21 runners up under its belt. The Philippines also spearheaded the Miss Earth competition, which is a pageant promoting environmental awareness.
2. USA
Titles ranking: 2 (14 titles)
Runners up ranking: 1 (58 runners-up)
Average ranking: 1.5
A pageant favorite, USA delegates have managed to get into the semifinals more often than not. The country boasts eight Miss Universe (1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997, 2012) titles with Olivia Culpo getting their most recent win. The Miss Universe organization is headquartered in New York. It was founded in 1952 by Pacific Mills, a clothing company in California.
Aside from that, USA has won three Miss World (1973, 1990, 2010) titles and three Miss International (1974, 1978, 1982) crowns. First American Miss World winner Marjorie Wallace was dethroned for reportedly failing to fulfill the basic requirements of the job. USA delegates also place consistently, raking in 58 runners up. The country has yet to claim its first Miss Earth title.
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1. Venezuela
Titles ranking: 1 (22 titles)
Runners up ranking: 2 (40 runners-up)
Average ranking: 1.5
Venezuela is known around the world as the “Land of Beauty” and they definitely deserve that title with 22 pageant titles under its belt while dominating the big four at the same time. Venezuela has seven Miss Universe (1979, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2013) titles and the first country to win back to back in the competition. The country also has six Miss World (1955, 1981, 1991, 1995, 2011) titles, seven Miss International (1985, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2015) crowns, and two Miss Earth victories (2005, 2013). Venezuela is a frequent finalist as well with 40 runners up under its belt. It was reported that every girl in Venezuela dreams of becoming a “Miss” as they view beauty queens as perfect people.
Venezuela has beauty schools where teens train to become future beauty queens. Mothers encourage their daughters to prepare early with some young girls reportedly having butt lifts at the age of 12 and other surgical and cosmetic procedures in hopes of becoming the next Miss Venezuela. With their current record, it looks like they’re really taking these beauty pageants seriously.
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These 11 best countries in beauty pageants have brought pride and joy to their countrymen with the crowns they bring home. These beauty queens don’t simply lounge around after they win. They take time to fulfill their obligations to the community. Most of them do philanthropic work in different parts of the world, giving inspiration to different organizations and groups of people. These ladies have become advocates of charity and solidarity, making beauty pageants still relevant today.
