The 6 Least Similar Countries in the World

The Country Similarity Index has established that Niger and Japan are the least similar countries in the world. The analysis shows that their demographics, culture, governments, infrastructure, and geography are extremely different.

But what country is extremely different from both Niger and Japan? The data shows that Iceland has the least in common with either country. Most people in Iceland have Caucasian ancestry, unlike Japan and Niger. They also tend to be much taller on average. Furthermore, their cultures are far different as well. Iceland is mostly Christian. The Icelandic language is unrelated to native languages spoken in Niger and Japan. Iceland’s laws are also less conservative. It allows same sex marriage and does not allow life imprisonment. Most of Iceland’s energy comes from renewable resources, while Japan and Niger rely on fossil fuels. Furthermore, Iceland’s climate is much colder than these countries.

Extending this analysis even further, we find that Bangladesh is the least similar country to the average of Japan, Niger, and Iceland. While both Niger and Bangladesh are mostly Muslim, they have little else in common. Interestingly enough, Bengali and Icelandic are both part of the same language family, but they are still far different from each other. Bengali uses a different writing system than is used Japan, Niger, and Iceland. Japan and Bangladesh are both densely populated countries in Asia. However, unlike the three other countries, Bangladesh has a tropical climate.

According the research from the Index, North Korea is the most unique country in the world, so it is no surprise that it makes this list. Despite the fact that North Koreans and Japanese have similar ancestry and are located close to each other, they have little else in common. North Korea’s government is quite an outlier, since it is one of the most authoritarian countries and practices an extreme amount of censorship. The country is not part of the UN or the WTO. In addition, the Korean language and writing system are relatively unique as well. North Korea also has nuclear weapons and far more military per capita.

After the first five countries, the United States is the next least similar to the group. Although like Iceland, the United States is predominately Caucasian and mostly Christian. These countries are still far different from each other. The United States is more racially diverse. It is also more religious. Unlike most countries, American football is the most popular sport. The country also does not use the metric system. Furthermore, the US has a great variety of different climates, since its land area is large. It borders both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The list could be continued even further. However, since Eritrea and Niger are somewhat similar, this seems to be a logical end point. Here are the next 6 least similar countries:

  1. Eritrea
  2. Papua New Guinea
  3. Saudi Arabia
  4. Singapore
  5. Finland
  6. Nepal

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