Which country has the highest Average Radiance?

Vatican City has the highest Average Radiance in 2023, at 68.48, followed by Monaco (64.92) and Macau (61.343).

Which country has the lowest Average Radiance?

Central African Republic has the lowest Average Radiance in 2023, at 0.001.

What is the median Average Radiance across countries?

The median is 0.436 across the 227 countries with data in 2023.

Where does this darkest countries data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Light Pollution Statistics - lightpollutionmap.

Country rankings

Darkest Countries

Name: Darkest Countries
Creator: Rankodex

Vatican City has the highest Average Radiance in 2023 (68.48), followed by Monaco (64.92) and Macau (61.343). Central African Republic has the lowest (0.001).

Geography228 countries · 4 metricsUpdated Jan 20, 2025Original page

1 source

Light Pollution Statistics - lightpollutionmap

Showing

Year

227 of 235 countries

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Average Radiance, 2023

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Highest first: the first 15 and last 5 of 227 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

0.436

Middle half 0.101 – 1.415

Average

2.715

227 countries

Highest

68.48

Vatican City

Lowest

0.001

Central African Republic

Biggest changes · 2022 → 2023

227 countries have a value in both years.

Largest increases

Largest decreases

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

228 countries · # = rank by Average Radiance

#
1	Vatican City	68.48	527.9	104.7	No
2	Monaco	64.92	39.7	79.5	No
3	Macau	61.343	29.8	60.7	No
4	Bahrain	55.885	173.9	49.4	No
5	Singapore	43.451	35.8	43.9	No
6	Qatar	19.894	429.4	15.3	No
7	Gibraltar	19.506	49.2	20.1	No
8	Hong Kong	16.917	17.3	16.5	No
9	Malta	13.765	59.3	12.9	No
10	Sint Maarten	13.27	102.8	10.6	No
11	San Marino	11.706	97.8	11.6	No
12	Kuwait	10.219	192.5	8.6	No
13	Palestine	10.086	58.9	7.1	No
14	Israel	9.552	109.6	7.7	No
15	Aruba	8.035	84.5	6.3	No
16	Trinidad and Tobago	6.672	131.1	6.5	No
17	United Arab Emirates	6.14	213.9	5.0	No
18	Curacao	5.708	99.7	5.3	No
19	Taiwan	5.48	41.1	5.1	No
20	Barbados	5.028	42.8	1.6	No
21	South Korea	4.958	47.8	4.0	No
22	Puerto Rico	4.895	69.3	4.7	No
23	Saint Martin	4.681	62.5	4.2	No
24	United States Virgin Islands	4.456	121.2	4.2	No
25	Guam	4.023	74.8	4.7	No
26	Nauru	4.003	66.0	3.1	No
27	Netherlands	3.911	40.5	5.0	No
28	Cayman Islands	3.784	126.9	3.8	No
29	Bermuda	3.676	44.0	4.0	No
30	Belgium	3.451	43.0	4.6	No
31	Italy	3.213	76.1	3.2	No
32	Luxembourg	3.138	61.3	3.6	No
33	Cyprus	2.892	93.2	2.8	No
34	Martinique	2.767	46.9	3.6	No
35	Mauritius	2.554	22.5	1.8	No
36	Saint Kitts and Nevis	2.405	81.1	2.1	No
37	Antigua and Barbuda	2.356	72.6	2.0	No
38	Brunei	2.316	145.4	2.4	No
39	Iraq	2.297	121.4	1.6	No
40	Portugal	2.204	93.7	2.4	No
41	Guadeloupe	2.144	51.5	2.4	No
42	Lebanon	2.086	14.8	3.6	No
43	Anguilla	1.945	114.3	1.8	No
44	Saint Lucia	1.929	36.6	1.9	No
45	Andorra	1.888	52.1	2.7	No
46	Reunion	1.871	27.3	2.2	No
47	Mayotte	1.804	17.8	1.2	No
48	Dominican Republic	1.684	37.4	1.0	No
49	Vietnam	1.633	26.3	1.3	No
50	Jamaica	1.579	31.5	1.3	No
51	Jordan	1.57	62.2	1.0	No
52	Turkey	1.561	69.7	1.1	No
53	Spain	1.53	77.5	1.5	No
54	Japan	1.511	21.9	1.4	No
55	United Kingdom	1.479	26.7	1.6	Yes
56	Liechtenstein	1.471	28.7	1.7	No
57	Greece	1.43	89.3	1.2	No
58	Maldives	1.4	58.6	0.6	No
59	Saint Barthelemy	1.388	57.8	1.0	No
60	Thailand	1.36	49.4	0.8	No
61	Serbia	1.256	65.6	1.2	No
62	Malaysia	1.228	58.6	1.0	No
63	Czechia	1.216	41.8	1.2	No
64	India	1.191	13.0	0.8	No
65	Grenada	1.171	25.5	1.0	No
66	Germany	1.164	23.5	1.1	No
67	Poland	1.106	41.9	1.1	No
68	Croatia	1.064	72.7	1.1	No
69	United States	1.06	114.9	0.9	Yes
70	Saudi Arabia	1.024	267.1	0.9	No
71	American Samoa	1.011	32.7	1.0	No
72	Switzerland	0.956	21.4	1.1	No
72	Northern Mariana Islands	0.956	69.2	0.8	No
74	Ecuador	0.954	66.4	0.7	No
75	Iran	0.94	86.0	0.7	No
76	British Virgin Islands	0.866	58.4	0.7	No
77	Finland	0.863	146.2	0.7	Yes
78	El Salvador	0.861	12.5	0.6	No
79	Slovenia	0.858	38.4	0.8	No
80	France	0.856	32.9	1.3	No
81	Bangladesh	0.834	3.3	0.5	No
81	Denmark	0.834	32.2	0.7	Yes
83	Albania	0.824	39.0	0.6	No
84	Costa Rica	0.815	39.4	0.7	No
85	Hungary	0.813	36.0	0.8	No
86	Tunisia	0.809	50.9	0.6	No
86	Turks and Caicos Islands	0.809	137.5	0.6	No
88	Montenegro	0.761	76.9	0.7	No
89	Romania	0.757	43.0	0.6	No
90	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0.752	18.9	0.6	No
91	Egypt	0.748	34.6	0.7	No
92	Azerbaijan	0.728	29.5	0.5	No
93	Slovakia	0.727	30.4	0.7	No
94	Oman	0.722	226.6	0.7	No
95	Austria	0.719	31.6	0.7	No
96	Norway	0.712	122.0	0.5	Yes
97	Ghana	0.689	25.3	0.3	No
98	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.673	48.4	0.5	No
99	Mexico	0.667	48.3	0.5	No
100	Sweden	0.66	87.1	0.5	Yes
101	China	0.637	19.9	0.4	No
102	Bulgaria	0.634	47.1	0.5	No
103	Ireland	0.622	44.2	0.6	No
104	Morocco	0.581	32.0	0.5	No
105	Georgia	0.554	48.5	0.4	No
106	Venezuela	0.534	70.6	0.6	No
107	Sri Lanka	0.527	7.7	0.3	No
108	Estonia	0.481	80.1	0.4	Yes
109	Seychelles	0.479	25.7	0.4	No
110	Guatemala	0.473	13.6	0.3	No
111	Cape Verde	0.463	19.7	0.3	No
112	Panama	0.462	40.1	0.3	No
113	Moldova	0.438	25.8	0.3	No
114	Philippines	0.436	6.0	0.3	No
115	Armenia	0.429	20.0	0.2	No
116	Indonesia	0.427	14.5	0.3	No
117	Bahamas	0.421	97.8	0.4	No
118	Faroe Islands	0.383	75.2	0.2	Yes
119	Pakistan	0.378	7.5	0.3	No
120	Honduras	0.365	21.1	0.3	No
121	Rwanda	0.36	3.4	0.2	No
122	Dominica	0.346	19.9	0.3	No
123	Lithuania	0.334	36.3	0.3	Yes
124	Sao Tome and Principe	0.332	9.4	0.3	No
125	Isle of Man	0.322	12.9	0.4	No
126	Paraguay	0.314	81.4	0.2	No
126	Uruguay	0.314	73.9	0.3	No
128	Cuba	0.304	15.0	0.3	No
129	Argentina	0.301	86.6	0.3	No
130	Algeria	0.299	74.0	0.2	No
131	Canada	0.293	90.0	0.2	Yes
132	Brazil	0.292	55.0	0.2	No
133	Uzbekistan	0.291	18.0	0.2	No
134	South Africa	0.281	27.6	0.3	No
134	Nepal	0.281	6.5	0.1	No
136	Ivory Coast	0.275	16.0	0.1	No
137	Latvia	0.268	42.5	0.2	Yes
138	Tonga	0.265	17.9	0.2	No
139	Chile	0.262	51.1	0.2	No
140	Colombia	0.26	28.5	0.2	No
141	Syria	0.251	12.8	0.2	No
142	Russia	0.246	83.7	0.1	Yes
143	Gambia	0.245	6.1	0.1	No
144	Belarus	0.244	24.9	0.2	No
145	Turkmenistan	0.241	92.7	0.2	No
146	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	0.237	70.0	0.3	No
147	Equatorial Guinea	0.231	21.7	0.2	No
148	Nigeria	0.223	4.7	0.2	No
149	Libya	0.207	229.8	0.1	No
150	Belize	0.206	55.6	0.2	No
151	Tajikistan	0.205	15.2	0.1	No
152	Palau	0.199	44.5	0.1	No
153	Togo	0.191	6.7	0.1	No
153	Montserrat	0.191	26.3	0.2	No
155	Senegal	0.161	9.1	0.1	No
156	Cambodia	0.16	8.3	0.1	No
157	Peru	0.154	28.6	0.1	No
158	Ukraine	0.145	9.7	0.2	No
159	Wallis and Futuna	0.143	16.1	0.0	No
160	Djibouti	0.141	13.5	0.1	No
161	New Zealand	0.14	36.3	0.1	No
161	New Caledonia	0.14	48.9	0.1	No
163	Micronesia	0.139	9.2	0.1	No
164	Nicaragua	0.128	11.9	0.1	No
165	Samoa	0.125	9.4	0.1	No
166	Marshall Islands	0.12	32.7	0.1	No
167	French Polynesia	0.115	17.2	0.1	No
168	Kenya	0.11	5.7	0.1	No
169	Fiji	0.103	12.2	0.1	No
170	Republic of the Congo	0.101	29.7	0.1	No
170	Bhutan	0.101	24.5	0.1	No
172	Myanmar	0.092	5.3	0.1	No
172	Bolivia	0.092	40.5	0.1	No
172	Laos	0.092	13.9	0.0	No
175	Timor-Leste	0.091	2.8	0.1	No
176	Benin	0.088	4.0	0.1	No
177	Yemen	0.085	6.2	0.1	No
178	Uganda	0.075	2.1	0.0	No
179	Kazakhstan	0.071	49.0	0.1	No
179	Kyrgyzstan	0.071	49.0	0.1	No
181	Burundi	0.069	0.8	0.0	No
182	Malawi	0.067	2.1	0.1	No
182	Gabon	0.067	38.3	0.1	No
184	Comoros	0.066	0.7	0.0	No
185	Lesotho	0.065	4.6	0.1	No
186	Suriname	0.061	71.0	0.0	No
187	Haiti	0.058	0.7	0.1	No
188	Tanzania	0.056	4.4	0.0	No
188	Angola	0.056	10.9	0.0	No
190	Burkina Faso	0.054	3.3	0.0	No
191	North Korea	0.05	1.2	0.0	No
191	Kiribati	0.05	5.5	0.0	No
193	Cameroon	0.046	4.1	0.0	No
193	Australia	0.046	64.2	0.0	No
195	Mozambique	0.044	5.8	0.0	No
196	Zimbabwe	0.043	5.2	0.0	No
197	Zambia	0.042	8.4	0.0	No
198	Guinea	0.041	3.8	0.0	No
199	Guyana	0.039	48.8	0.0	No
200	French Guiana	0.032	41.5	0.0	No
201	Papua New Guinea	0.03	7.9	0.0	No
202	Sudan	0.029	6.0	0.0	No
202	Botswana	0.029	33.0	0.0	No
204	Sierra Leone	0.028	1.2	0.0	No
204	Liberia	0.028	2.8	0.0	No
206	Afghanistan	0.026	2.4	0.0	No
206	Western Sahara	0.026	54.8	0.0	No
208	Ethiopia	0.02	1.1	0.0	No
208	Guinea-Bissau	0.02	2.1	0.0	No
210	Namibia	0.019	29.8	0.0	No
210	Tokelau	0.019	2.9	0.0	No
212	Vanuatu	0.018	4.2	0.1	No
212	Tuvalu	0.018	1.6	0.0	No
214	Solomon Islands	0.016	3.7	0.0	No
215	DR Congo	0.013	1.7	0.0	No
215	Mali	0.013	3.9	0.0	No
217	Mongolia	0.012	26.1	0.0	No
218	Cook Islands	0.011	2.4	0.0	No
219	Mauritania	0.01	11.2	0.0	No
220	Somalia	0.009	1.7	0.0	No
221	Madagascar	0.008	0.8	0.0	No
221	Niger	0.008	2.0	0.0	No
223	Chad	0.006	2.2	0.0	No
224	Eritrea	0.005	0.2	0.0	No
224	Falkland Islands	0.005	131.9	0.0	No
226	South Sudan	0.003	0.7	0.0	No
227	Central African Republic	0.001	0.6	0.0	No
—	Niue	—	—	—	No

What correlates with Average Radiance (2023)?

Pearson r against 1,275 other country metrics sharing at least 137 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Average Radiance tend to score higher on these

Population Density (per km²)
r = +0.76 · very strong · n = 227
Plot
Police per 100k PopulationPolice Spending by Country
r = +0.59 · strong · n = 138
Plot
GDP per Capita - UNGDP per Capita by Country
r = +0.50 · strong · n = 206
Plot
GDP per Person at PPP (International $)Economic Indicators by Country (World Bank)
r = +0.48 · moderate · n = 181
Plot
GDP per CapitaGDP per Capita by Country
r = +0.48 · moderate · n = 181
Plot
Monthly Cost Of Living (Living Cost)Cost of Living by Country
r = +0.45 · moderate · n = 193
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Average Radiance tend to score lower on these

% of Pop. Living on Less Than $10 USD/DayPoverty Rate by Country
r = −0.38 · moderate · n = 157
Plot
Lack of Adaptive CapacitiesNatural Disaster Risk by Country
r = −0.36 · moderate · n = 190
Plot
% of Population at Risk and Poor ($5.5/Day)Flooding by Country
r = −0.32 · moderate · n = 139
Plot
Crime Index Numbeo (1-100)Crime Rate by Country
r = −0.31 · moderate · n = 142
Plot
% of Pop. Living on Less Than $3.65 USD/DayPoverty Rate by Country
r = −0.30 · weak · n = 155
Plot
EconomyFailed States
r = −0.30 · weak · n = 176
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Average Radiance?: Vatican City has the highest Average Radiance in 2023, at 68.48, followed by Monaco (64.92) and Macau (61.343).
Which country has the lowest Average Radiance?: Central African Republic has the lowest Average Radiance in 2023, at 0.001.
What is the median Average Radiance across countries?: The median is 0.436 across the 227 countries with data in 2023.
Where does this darkest countries data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Light Pollution Statistics - lightpollutionmap.