UN M49 · 5 continents · 22 sub-regions · Country Index 2026

The world, region by region

Where in the world do countries place highest?

Europe’s countries place highest, with a median position of 26th of 174 in the Country Index 2026; Africa’s the lowest, at 139th. Between sub-regions the gap is wider: half of Western Europe’s placed countries sit at or above 7th, half of Middle Africa’s at or below 150th.

Median position, by continentof 174

Red square: the continent’s median. Grey line: the range of its sub-regions’ medians. The middle of the whole field is 87th.

225countries and territories
174placed in the Country Index 2026
5continents
22UN sub-regions
21sub-regions with a median
12topics compared

01Every region

The world by region

Each of the 22 UN sub-regions shaded by the median position of its placed countries, darker for a higher median. The borders inside a region are hidden, so its shade reads as the region’s, never as one country’s own. Select a region to open its page.

Median position: 1st174thNo country placedNot a country this site tracks

02Five continents

Each continent and its sub-regions

The photographs are each continent’s three most populous countries with a banner photo, a stated rule rather than an editor’s pick. On every card the square is the median position and the grey bar runs from the best-placed to the lowest-placed country; a count in amber means the median rests on two countries or fewer.

Continent · UN M49 002

Africa

The African continent, from the Mediterranean coast to the Cape — 55 countries across five UN sub-regions.

Nigeria
Ethiopia
Egypt

Countries and territories: 55
Placed in the index: 50
Median of 174 · 5th of 5: 139th
In the world’s top fifth: 0; Highest: Mauritius joint 46th

Continent · UN M49 019

Americas

Both American continents and the Caribbean — from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego.

United States
Brazil
Mexico

Countries and territories: 48
Placed in the index: 31
Median of 174 · 3rd of 5: 74th
In the world’s top fifth: 3; Highest: Canada 20th

Continent · UN M49 142

Asia

The largest continent by land and people — five UN sub-regions from the Mediterranean to the Pacific.

India
China
Indonesia

Countries and territories: 52
Placed in the index: 46
Median of 174 · 4th of 5: 89th
In the world’s top fifth: 3; Highest: South Korea 16th

Continent · UN M49 150

Europe

The European continent in the UN's four sub-regions, from the Atlantic to the Urals.

Russia
Germany
United Kingdom

Countries and territories: 49
Placed in the index: 39
Median of 174 · 1st of 5: 26th
In the world’s top fifth: 27; Highest: Switzerland 1st

Continent · UN M49 009

Oceania

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific island states, in the UN's four sub-regions.

Australia
Papua New Guinea
New Zealand

Countries and territories: 21
Placed in the index: 8
Median of 174 · 2nd of 5: 66th
In the world’s top fifth: 2; Highest: New Zealand 13th

0322 sub-regions

Where each sub-region sits, and how far apart its countries are

Best median first, on one axis from 1st to 174th. A median hides spread: two regions can share one and be a tight group or two very different kinds of country.

The full Country Index 2026

1Western Europe7th7 of 9Placed countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 25th.
2Northern Europe9th10 of 13Placed countries run from Ireland 2nd to Latvia 27th.
3Australia and New Zealand13th2 of 2Placed countries run from New Zealand 13th to Australia 14th.
4Eastern Asia18th4 of 8Placed countries run from South Korea 16th to Mongolia 80th.
5Northern America20th2 of 4Placed countries run from Canada 20th to United States 33rd.
6Southern Europe30th12 of 17Placed countries run from Slovenia 15th to Albania 57th.
7Eastern Europe41st10 of 10Placed countries run from Czechia 12th to Russia 85th.
8Polynesia64th2 of 7Placed countries run from Samoa 64th to Tonga 87th.
9South America74th12 of 12Placed countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 139th.
10Caribbean76th9 of 24Placed countries run from Barbados 55th to Haiti 168th.
11Western Asia80th17 of 19Placed countries run from Cyprus 36th to Yemen 172nd.
12South-eastern Asia90th11 of 11Placed countries run from Singapore 21st to Myanmar 152nd.
13Central America92nd8 of 8Placed countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 132nd.
14Central Asia104th5 of 5Placed countries run from Kazakhstan 62nd to Turkmenistan 133rd.
15Melanesia108th4 of 5Placed countries run from Fiji 66th to Papua New Guinea 145th.
16Southern Asia109th9 of 9Placed countries run from Maldives 50th to Afghanistan 171st.
17Southern Africa113th5 of 5Placed countries run from South Africa 94th to Eswatini 138th.
18Northern Africa125th6 of 6Placed countries run from Tunisia 105th to Sudan 173rd.
19Western Africa141st15 of 16Placed countries run from Ghana 99th to Mauritania 166th.
20Eastern Africa142nd15 of 19Placed countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 174th.
21Middle Africa150th9 of 9Placed countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 95th to Chad 170th.
Micronesia—none placed
The world’s midpoint87th

1st174thmedianplaced

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

04By subject

Who leads each topic

Each sub-region’s place among the sub-regions on each topic, 1 for the best median — the same list as above, subject by subject. A hatched cell means fewer than two of its countries hold a standing on that topic. Hover a cell for the median behind it.

All topics

Each UN sub-region’s place among sub-regions on each of the twelve topics.
	Governance & Institutions	Economy & Innovation	Work & Labour	Education & Knowledge	Health & Wellbeing	Development & Human Capital	Environment & Sustainability	Gender & Equality	Democracy & Civil Liberties	Peace & Security	Risk & Resilience	Mobility & Connectivity
Western Europe	4 of 22	2 of 19	4 of 21	3 of 22	1 of 22	2 of 22	4 of 21	1 of 21	3 of 22	4 of 20	2 of 22	3 of 21
Northern Europe	3 of 22	1 of 19	6 of 21	4 of 22	3 of 22	4 of 22	5 of 21	2 of 21	2 of 22	6 of 20	1 of 22	6 of 21
Australia and New Zealand	2 of 22	5 of 19	1 of 21	2 of 22	4 of 22	1 of 22	1 of 21	4 of 21	1 of 22	1 of 20	10 of 22	5 of 21
Eastern Asia	5 of 22	3 of 19	3 of 21	10 of 22	6 of 22	7 of 22	19 of 21	7 of 21	13 of 22	10 of 20	17 of 22	1 of 21
Northern America	1 of 22	4 of 19	2 of 21	1 of 22	2 of 22	3 of 22	16 of 21	3 of 21	4 of 22	3 of 20	11 of 22	4 of 21
Southern Europe	7 of 22	7 of 19	11 of 21	7 of 22	5 of 22	5 of 22	10 of 21	5 of 21	8 of 22	8 of 20	3 of 22	8 of 21
Eastern Europe	6 of 22	6 of 19	5 of 21	5 of 22	7 of 22	6 of 22	14 of 21	6 of 21	11 of 22	12 of 20	7 of 22	9 of 21
Polynesia	18 of 22	No standing	17 of 21	8 of 22	12 of 22	17 of 22	2 of 21	14 of 21	6 of 22	No standing	4 of 22	11 of 21
South America	10 of 22	11 of 19	12 of 21	11 of 22	13 of 22	9 of 22	9 of 21	8 of 21	12 of 22	9 of 20	14 of 22	15 of 21
Caribbean	12 of 22	9 of 19	10 of 21	17 of 22	14 of 22	11 of 22	20 of 21	11 of 21	7 of 22	2 of 20	6 of 22	12 of 21
Western Asia	9 of 22	8 of 19	7 of 21	9 of 22	8 of 22	8 of 22	18 of 21	13 of 21	19 of 22	19 of 20	16 of 22	10 of 21
South-eastern Asia	8 of 22	12 of 19	8 of 21	15 of 22	11 of 22	12 of 22	11 of 21	12 of 21	15 of 22	14 of 20	20 of 22	2 of 21
Central America	14 of 22	13 of 19	9 of 21	19 of 22	9 of 22	13 of 22	7 of 21	9 of 21	14 of 22	7 of 20	15 of 22	14 of 21
Central Asia	15 of 22	15 of 19	16 of 21	6 of 22	15 of 22	10 of 22	21 of 21	10 of 21	21 of 22	16 of 20	13 of 22	18 of 21
Melanesia	19 of 22	No standing	14 of 21	14 of 22	18 of 22	16 of 22	13 of 21	21 of 21	9 of 22	5 of 20	19 of 22	17 of 21
Southern Asia	16 of 22	10 of 19	18 of 21	16 of 22	16 of 22	14 of 22	8 of 21	20 of 21	16 of 22	15 of 20	21 of 22	13 of 21
Southern Africa	13 of 22	14 of 19	20 of 21	18 of 22	20 of 22	19 of 22	15 of 21	16 of 21	10 of 22	11 of 20	8 of 22	7 of 21
Northern Africa	11 of 22	16 of 19	21 of 21	11 of 22	10 of 22	15 of 22	17 of 21	17 of 21	20 of 22	20 of 20	22 of 22	16 of 21
Western Africa	17 of 22	19 of 19	13 of 21	20 of 22	19 of 22	22 of 22	12 of 21	19 of 21	17 of 22	13 of 20	9 of 22	19 of 21
Eastern Africa	20 of 22	18 of 19	15 of 21	21 of 22	21 of 22	20 of 22	3 of 21	15 of 21	18 of 22	17 of 20	18 of 22	21 of 21
Middle Africa	22 of 22	17 of 19	19 of 21	22 of 22	22 of 22	21 of 22	6 of 21	18 of 21	22 of 22	18 of 20	12 of 22	19 of 21
Micronesia	21 of 22	No standing	No standing	13 of 22	17 of 22	18 of 22	No standing	No standing	5 of 22	No standing	5 of 22	No standing

05In records

Regions in records

Four facts read off the positions. A record two regions share is not given to either.

Widest spread
Western Asia
136 places
between its best- and lowest-placed countries
Cyprus 36th · Yemen 172nd
Narrowest spread
Western Europe
24 places
between its best- and lowest-placed countries, among regions with five or more placed
Switzerland 1st · France 25th
Most in the world’s top fifth
Northern Europe
10 of 10
placed countries in the best fifth of the whole ranking
Of 174 countries placed in the Country Index 2026
First on the most topics
Australia and New Zealand
5 of 12
topics on which it places first among sub-regions
A median of 2 placed countries

06The list

Every country, by region

All 225 countries and territories under their UN sub-regions. Grey names are not placed in the Country Index 2026: they hold standings on too few topics.

Countries A–Z

Africa

Northern Africamedian 125th

Western Africamedian 141st

Middle Africamedian 150th

Eastern Africamedian 142nd

Southern Africamedian 113th

Americas

Northern Americamedian 20th

Central Americamedian 92nd

Caribbeanmedian 76th

Anguillanot placed
Antigua and Barbudanot placed
Arubanot placed
Bahamas
Barbados
British Virgin Islandsnot placed
Cayman Islandsnot placed
Cuba
Curaçaonot placed
Dominicanot placed
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
Montserratnot placed
Puerto Riconot placed
Saint Kitts and Nevisnot placed
Saint Lucia
Saint Martinnot placed
Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesnot placed
Sint Maartennot placed
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islandsnot placed
United States Virgin Islandsnot placed

South Americamedian 74th

Asia

Central Asiamedian 104th

Eastern Asiamedian 18th

China
Hong Kongnot placed
Japan
Macaunot placed
Mongolia
North Koreanot placed
South Korea
Taiwannot placed

South-eastern Asiamedian 90th

Southern Asiamedian 109th

Western Asiamedian 80th

Europe

Northern Europemedian 9th

Western Europemedian 7th

Eastern Europemedian 41st

Southern Europemedian 30th

Oceania

Australia and New Zealandmedian 13th

Melanesiamedian 108th

Micronesiano median

Guamnot placed
Kiribatinot placed
Marshall Islandsnot placed
Micronesianot placed
Naurunot placed
Northern Mariana Islandsnot placed
Palaunot placed

Polynesiamedian 64th

American Samoanot placed
Cook Islandsnot placed
French Polynesianot placed
Niuenot placed
Samoa
Tonga
Tuvalunot placed

07Method

Questions, method and sources

How are the regions defined?

By the United Nations Statistics Division’s M49 standard: 5 continental regions and 22 sub-regions, covering the 225 countries and territories on this site. M49’s middle level — Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean — is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent.

Why is a region described by a median and not an average?

A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions in the Country Index 2026: half of them sit at or above it and half below. An average of positions would be pulled around by one very high or very low country, and averaging raw ranks is refused on this site because a rank depends on the size of its field. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

Why does Micronesia have no median?

None of its countries holds standings on enough topics to be placed in the Country Index 2026, and a median of nobody would be invented. It is still compared topic by topic wherever at least two members hold a standing.

Which region is Mexico in?

Mexico is in Central America; Türkiye is in Western Asia; Iran is in Southern Asia. These follow the UN’s M49 classification, which groups countries by geography rather than by language, history or alliances.

Are any countries placed in a region by this site rather than the UN?

Yes, 3: M49 does not list Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland, so this site places each by plain geography — Kosovo in Southern Europe, Northern Cyprus in Western Asia and Somaliland in Eastern Africa.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Nigeria (Africa) — Slashme, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ethiopia (Africa) — Bernard Gagnon derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי, CC BY-SA 3.0
Egypt (Africa) — Rudolph.A.furtado, CC0
United States (Americas) — Stefano Brivio, CC BY 2.0
Brazil (Americas) — Luis Rizo derivative work: Jjtkk, Public domain
Mexico (Americas) — Jujutacular derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
India (Asia) — Kumaravels derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי, CC BY 2.5 in
China (Asia) — Seebeer Edited by Nicholasjf21, Public domain
Indonesia (Asia) — Dohduhdah, CC0
Russia (Europe) — Strokin.ru derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 3.0
Germany (Europe) — dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
Australia (Oceania) — tiimta, CC BY-SA 3.0
Papua New Guinea (Oceania) — eGuide Travel, CC BY 2.0
New Zealand (Oceania) — Karora derivative work: Inkey, Public domain

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). World regions: countries by continent and sub-region, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions