Geography has always been one of the most fascinating and interesting areas of knowledge. And while most of us can name the largest and smallest countries on Earth, not many people know about the most rectangular and round countries.
So what is the most rectangular country in the world? According to a study by Australian statistician David Barry, the most rectangular country is Egypt. Egypt’s borders are 95.5% the same as a rectangle. This means that most of its borders form right angles, making it very rectangular.
Here’s a list of the countries with the most rectangular shape:
1. Egypt – 95.5%
2. Vatican City – 95.0%
3. St. Maarten – 94.8%
4. Lesotho – 94.7%
5. Yemen – 94.6%
6. Ghana – 94.4%
7. Northern Macedonia – 94.3%
8. Côte d’Ivoire – 94.2%
9. Poland – 94.1%
10. Nauru – 93.9%
It turns out that Turkey, which served as the original inspiration for David Barry’s project, actually ranks only 15th on the list of rectangular-shaped countries.
The U.S. rounds out the list, ranking 169th with a 73.5 percent match of shape to the rectangle structure. However, this is due to the fact that Alaska, Hawaii and offshore territories are different from the main part of the country.
Now let’s move on to another interesting question: which country has the most round shape? Gonzalo Ciruelos, inspired by David Barry’s work, decided to use similar statistical methods to determine the roundest country. The study found that the roundest country is Sierra Leone, which has a roundness of 93.4 percent.
Here is the list of the countries with the roundest shape:
1. Sierra Leone – 93.4 percent.
2. Nauru – 92.1%
3. Zimbabwe – 91.8%
4. Vatican City – 91.6%
5. Poland – 91.4%
6. Scarborough Reef disputed territory – 91.3%
7. Côte d’Ivoire – 91.2%
8. Suriname – 91.1%
9. Swaziland – 90.9%
10. Uruguay – 90.7%
So, what can we learn from all this? Firstly, the geography of our planet is full of amazing features and interesting facts. Secondly, even such a simple and seemingly insignificant characteristic as the shape of a country can be the subject of research and discussion.
