Britain has more coastline than Brazil – but which country has the most seaside?
Love to be beside the seaside? Then you won't be disappointed in the destinations that appear in darker colours on the map below – they boast the longest coastlines in the world.
Canada has the most coast of all - a staggering 202,080 kilometres, according to the CIA World Factbook - though the chilly waters mean it's far from ideal for beachgoers. Ditto Greenland and Russia, numbers three and four, respectively.
A far better bet would be Indonesia, with its 54,716km of seaside (it has 18,307 islands, so its high ranking is hardly a surprise); The Philippines, fifth overall, with 36,289km; Japan, sixth with 29,751km; Australia, seventh with 25,760km; and Norway, eighth, with 25,148km (yes it has some beautiful beaches, though the water is a little chilly).
The UK's coastline is surprisingly long. All those coves and islands mean it is, remarkably, longer than Brazil's, Chile's, Mexico's and India's.
The 20 countries (and two territories) with the longest coastlines
Canada - 202,080km
Indonesia - 54,716km
Greenland - 44,087km
Russia - 37,653km
Philippines - 36,289km
Japan - 29,751km
Australia - 25,760km
Norway - 25,148km
United States - 19,924km
Antarctica - 17,968km
New Zealand - 15,134km
China - 14,500km
Greece - 13,676km
United Kingdom - 12,429km
Mexico - 9,330km
Italy - 7,600km
Brazil - 7,491km
Denmark - 7,314km
Turkey - 7,200km
India - 7,000km
Chile - 6,435km
Croatia - 6,268km
And if you simply must have sun and sand on holiday, you should definitely avoid those countries that appear in grey on the map above - they have no coastline whatsoever.
Worse still would be Liechtenstein or Uzbekistan, the only doubly landlocked countries on Earth (ie. they are entirely surrounded by landlocked countries - Liechtenstein by Switzerland and Austria; Uzbekistan by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan).
The world's 45 landlocked nations
Afghanistan
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bhutan
Bolivia
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Central African Republic
Chad
Czech Republic
Ethiopia
Hungary
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malawi
Mali
Moldova
Mongolia
Nepal
Niger
Paraguay
Rwanda
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
South Sudan
Swaziland
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Uzbekistan
Vatican City
Zambia
Zimbabwe