While "weirdest" is subjective, Turkmenistan is frequently cited due to its extreme isolation, bizarre personality cults around past dictators (like renaming days of the week after themselves), mandatory white marble architecture, near-total internet censorship, empty cities, and strict travel rules requiring guides, creating a surreal, dystopian atmosphere. Other contenders include Armenia, where chess is mandatory in schools, and Liechtenstein, known for its disproportionate false teeth production.
Decades of psychological research designed to uncover truths about human psychology may have instead uncovered truths about a thin slice of our species—people who live in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) nations (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010).
From the dynamic landscapes and cultural heritage of Zambia and Zimbabwe to the historical significance of former nations like Zaire and Zululand, these countries hold special tales and traditions.
1. Tuvalu. As mentioned by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, this remote Pacific archipelago clinches the title of the world's least-visited nation.
WEIRD. WEIRD is a backronym that stands for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. It was coined in 2010 to label the populations most commonly sampled by researchers in the experimental behavioral sciences, including psychologists, cognitive scientists, and economists.
Many countries no longer exist, like the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, which dissolved into multiple new nations, while others like East Germany, South Vietnam, Austria-Hungary, Prussia, and Sikkim were absorbed or unified into larger states, leaving behind historical traces but not as independent countries.
1. Kiribati. Kiribati – a remote island nation in the Micronesia region of the Pacific Ocean – is the least-visited country in the world. Its 33 atolls and islands straddle the equator, sitting just above sea level, making them among the world's most climate-vulnerable.
🇪🇸 Spain has officially been ranked the #1 most fun country in the world 🎉 According to a global survey of 17,000 people across 36 nations, Spain came out on top in the U.S. News Best Countries Rankings 2024, which evaluated 89 countries in partnership with WPP and Wharton.
🇨🇳 Chongqing is famously known as “the 5D City”. And yes, it is weird to have a same street level be floor 22 and 25 at the same time in parallel buildings… but at the end of the day it's not as strange as its hyped up to be!
My personal guess would be Malawi. Most people don't see it in any news and don't know anyone from there. Usually a lot is talked about small countries exactly because they are small, but not much is talked about some places like Malawi and Lesotho.
The term 'Third World' refers to countries that are often characterized as poor, underdeveloped, or decolonized, primarily located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
