The South-East Asian nation of Indonesia is the world's most chilled out country, according to a study by lastminute.com.
The European travel retailer crunched numbers to come up with a list of the world’s 15 most laid-back lands.
Considering factors across four categories: breaks, environment, culture and human rights, researchers looked at everything from weather and light pollution to number of public holidays, accessibility of Zen spaces and country’s natural resources.
Indonesia scored best in the environment and culture categories, but dropped points in terms of human rights. With almost 200 green spaces and over 16,000 islands, travellers are never far from an ocean-dipped sunset.
Second-placed Australia scored well for environment thank to its abundance of nature and for human rights but dropped points in the culture category. Next up, Iceland scored reasonably well across all four categories. The island nation gives workers 36 days off every year and is one of the best spots on the planet for stargazing.
The Philippines was ranked as the best place on the planet to explore Mother Nature as well as being listed seventh in the chilled-out rankings. Sri Lanka, listed by Lonely Planet as the top country to visit in 2019, was voted the best place to enjoy a day off and ranked in fifth place, just below New Zealand which is the fourth most chilled-out country in the world.
Also making the cut was Cyprus in sixth place which scored well across culture and breaks, and Greece and Spain which were recommended for their practices of Mesimeri and Siesta — or taking some quiet time after lunch. They ranked eight and fifteenth, respectively.
India's fascination with mediation pushed the country into ninth place while Mauritius, Costa Rica, Portugal, Bulgaria and Croatia rounded out the top 15.
Thailand was commended as the best place in the world for a spa holiday while Japan received kudos for its hot spring culture and Finland for its sauna philosophy.
The full list runs as follows:
1. Indonesia
2. Australia
3. Iceland
4. New Zealand
5. Sri Lanka
6. Cyprus
7. Philippines
8. Greece
9. India
10. Mauritius
11. Costa Rica
12. Portugal
13. Bulgaria
14. Croatia
15. Spain
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