Darkest Countries 2025

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Radiance per 1k Population 2023

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

429.4

229.8

226.6

Country
Average Radiance 2023↓
Radiance per 1k Population 2023
Average Radiance 2012-2023
Aurora Borealis May Impact Radiance
Average Radiance 2022
Vatican City68.480527.9104.7No74.260
Monaco64.92039.779.5No72.357
Macau61.34329.860.7No60.625
Bahrain55.885173.949.4No54.661
Singapore43.45135.843.9No42.695
Qatar19.894429.415.3No19.379
Gibraltar19.50649.220.1No19.218
Hong Kong16.91717.316.5No17.527
Malta13.76559.312.9No13.582
Sint Maarten13.270102.810.6No12.499
San Marino11.70697.811.6No12.064
Kuwait10.219192.58.6No9.866
Palestine10.08658.97.1No9.364
Israel9.552109.67.7No8.986
Aruba8.03584.56.3No7.787
Trinidad and Tobago6.672131.16.5No6.368
United Arab Emirates6.140213.95.0No5.896
Curacao5.70899.75.3No5.189
Taiwan5.48041.15.1No5.357
Barbados5.02842.81.6No4.710
South Korea4.95847.84.0No4.726
Puerto Rico4.89569.34.7No4.576
Saint Martin4.68162.54.2No4.452
United States Virgin Islands4.456121.24.2No4.253
Guam4.02374.84.7No4.149
Nauru4.00366.03.1No3.956
Netherlands3.91140.55.0No3.894
Cayman Islands3.784126.93.8No3.659
Bermuda3.67644.04.0No3.655
Belgium3.45143.04.6No4.399
Italy3.21376.13.2No3.275
Luxembourg3.13861.33.6No3.766
Cyprus2.89293.22.8No2.648
Martinique2.76746.93.6No2.799
Mauritius2.55422.51.8No2.291
Saint Kitts and Nevis2.40581.12.1No2.139
Antigua and Barbuda2.35672.62.0No2.034
Brunei2.316145.42.4No2.268
Iraq2.297121.41.6No2.235
Portugal2.20493.72.4No2.206
Guadeloupe2.14451.52.4No2.023
Lebanon2.08614.83.6No1.423
Anguilla1.945114.31.8No1.822
Saint Lucia1.92936.61.9No1.811
Andorra1.88852.12.7No2.627
Reunion1.87127.32.2No2.903
Mayotte1.80417.81.2No1.582
Dominican Republic1.68437.41.0No1.468
Vietnam1.63326.31.3No1.447
Jamaica1.57931.51.3No1.390
Jordan1.57062.21.0No1.386
Turkey1.56169.71.1No1.412
Spain1.53077.51.5No1.480
Japan1.51121.91.4No1.451
United Kingdom1.47926.71.6Yes1.479
Liechtenstein1.47128.71.7No1.520
Greece1.43089.31.2No1.320
Maldives1.40058.60.6No0.938
Saint Barthelemy1.38857.81.0No1.276
Thailand1.36049.40.8No1.063
Serbia1.25665.61.2No1.301
Malaysia1.22858.61.0No1.109
Czech Republic1.21641.81.2No1.222
India1.19113.00.8No1.015
Grenada1.17125.51.0No0.972
Germany1.16423.51.1No1.175
Poland1.10641.91.1No1.180
Croatia1.06472.71.1No1.091
United States1.060114.90.9Yes0.978
Saudi Arabia1.024267.10.9No0.985
American Samoa1.01132.71.0No0.956
Switzerland0.95621.41.1No1.043
Northern Mariana Islands0.95669.20.8No0.973
Ecuador0.95466.40.7No0.832
Iran0.94086.00.7No0.811
British Virgin Islands0.86658.40.7No0.731
Finland0.863146.20.7Yes0.833
El Salvador0.86112.50.6No0.726
Slovenia0.85838.40.8No0.847
France0.85632.91.3No1.128
Bangladesh0.8343.30.5No0.679
Denmark0.83432.20.7Yes0.820
Albania0.82439.00.6No0.731
Costa Rica0.81539.40.7No0.697
Hungary0.81336.00.8No0.827
Tunisia0.80950.90.6No0.736
Turks and Caicos Islands0.809137.50.6No0.741
Montenegro0.76176.90.7No0.758
Romania0.75743.00.6No0.655
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines0.75218.90.6No0.586
Egypt0.74834.60.7No0.775
Azerbaijan0.72829.50.5No0.582
Slovakia0.72730.40.7No0.774
Oman0.722226.60.7No0.662
Austria0.71931.60.7No0.720
Norway0.712122.00.5Yes0.543
Ghana0.68925.30.3No0.557
Bosnia and Herzegovina0.67348.40.5No0.630
Mexico0.66748.30.5No0.595
Sweden0.66087.10.5Yes0.596
China0.63719.90.4No0.569
Bulgaria0.63447.10.5No0.532
Ireland0.62244.20.6No0.586
Morocco0.58132.00.5No0.538
Georgia0.55448.50.4No0.472
Venezuela0.53470.60.6No0.485
Sri Lanka0.5277.70.3No0.412
Estonia0.48180.10.4Yes0.536
Seychelles0.47925.70.4No0.411
Guatemala0.47313.60.3No0.392
Cape Verde0.46319.70.3No0.415
Panama0.46240.10.3No0.384
Moldova0.43825.80.3No0.339
Philippines0.4366.00.3No0.328
Armenia0.42920.00.2No0.338
Indonesia0.42714.50.3No0.334
Bahamas0.42197.80.4No0.370
Faroe Islands0.38375.20.2Yes0.251
Pakistan0.3787.50.3No0.343
Honduras0.36521.10.3No0.277
Rwanda0.3603.40.2No0.258
Dominica0.34619.90.3No0.260
Lithuania0.33436.30.3Yes0.348
Sao Tome and Principe0.3329.40.3No0.288
Isle of Man0.32212.90.4No0.301
Paraguay0.31481.40.2No0.268
Uruguay0.31473.90.3No0.297
Cuba0.30415.00.3No0.253
Argentina0.30186.60.3No0.286
Algeria0.29974.00.2No0.265
Canada0.29390.00.2Yes0.240
Brazil0.29255.00.2No0.255
Uzbekistan0.29118.00.2No0.263
South Africa0.28127.60.3No0.284
Nepal0.2816.50.1No0.182
Ivory Coast0.27516.00.1No0.227
Latvia0.26842.50.2Yes0.278
Tonga0.26517.90.2No0.213
Chile0.26251.10.2No0.239
Colombia0.26028.50.2No0.222
Syria0.25112.80.2No0.218
Russia0.24683.70.1Yes0.159
Gambia0.2456.10.1No0.179
Belarus0.24424.90.2No0.199
Turkmenistan0.24192.70.2No0.204
Saint Pierre and Miquelon0.23770.00.3No0.212
Equatorial Guinea0.23121.70.2No0.169
Nigeria0.2234.70.2No0.203
Libya0.207229.80.1No0.153
Belize0.20655.60.1No0.165
Tajikistan0.20515.20.1No0.157
Palau0.19944.50.1No0.141
Togo0.1916.70.1No0.149
Montserrat0.19126.30.2No0.154
Senegal0.1619.10.1No0.117
Cambodia0.1608.30.1No0.102
Peru0.15428.60.1No0.145
Ukraine0.1459.70.2No0.107
Wallis and Futuna0.14316.10.0No0.080
Djibouti0.14113.50.1No0.126
New Zealand0.14036.30.1No0.132
New Caledonia0.14048.90.1No0.119
Micronesia0.1399.20.1No0.100
Nicaragua0.12811.90.1No0.114
Samoa0.1259.40.1No0.086
Marshall Islands0.12032.70.1No0.064
French Polynesia0.11517.20.1No0.093
Kenya0.1105.70.1No0.091
Fiji0.10312.20.1No0.081
Republic of the Congo0.10129.70.1No0.094
Bhutan0.10124.50.1No0.056
Myanmar0.0925.30.1No0.073
Bolivia0.09240.50.1No0.086
Laos0.09213.90.0No0.056
Timor-Leste0.0912.80.1No0.064
Benin0.0884.00.1No0.075
Yemen0.0856.20.1No0.086
Uganda0.0752.10.0No0.056
Kazakhstan0.07149.00.1No0.061
Kyrgyzstan0.07149.00.1No0.061
Burundi0.0690.80.0No0.043
Malawi0.0672.10.1No0.053
Gabon0.06738.30.1No0.062
Comoros0.0660.70.0No0.041
Lesotho0.0654.60.1No0.052
Suriname0.06171.00.0No0.053
Haiti0.0580.70.1No0.056
Tanzania0.0564.40.0No0.043
Angola0.05610.90.0No0.056
Burkina Faso0.0543.30.0No0.045
North Korea0.0501.20.0No0.029
Kiribati0.0505.50.0No0.016
Cameroon0.0464.10.0No0.034
Australia0.04664.20.0No0.041
Mozambique0.0445.80.0No0.037
Zimbabwe0.0435.20.0No0.033
Zambia0.0428.40.0No0.035
Guinea0.0413.80.0No0.029
Guyana0.03948.80.0No0.026
French Guiana0.03241.50.0No0.029
Papua New Guinea0.0307.90.0No0.023
Sudan0.0296.00.0No0.029
Botswana0.02933.00.0No0.025
Sierra Leone0.0281.20.0No0.021
Liberia0.0282.80.0No0.018
Afghanistan0.0262.40.0No0.018
Western Sahara0.02654.80.0No0.024
Ethiopia0.0201.10.0No0.017
Guinea-Bissau0.0202.10.0No0.017
Namibia0.01929.80.0No0.016
Tokelau0.0192.90.0No0.008
Vanuatu0.0184.20.1No0.011
Tuvalu0.0181.60.0No0.009
Solomon Islands0.0163.70.0No0.009
DR Congo0.0131.70.0No0.012
Mali0.0133.90.0No0.012
Mongolia0.01226.10.0No0.011
Cook Islands0.0112.40.0No0.005
Mauritania0.01011.20.0No0.008
Somalia0.0091.70.0No0.007
Madagascar0.0080.80.0No0.007
Niger0.0082.00.0No0.007
Chad0.0062.20.0No0.006
Eritrea0.0050.20.0No0.004
Falkland Islands0.005131.90.0No0.004
South Sudan0.0030.70.0No0.002
Central African Republic0.0010.60.0No0.001
NiueNo
  • The amount of ambient light, or nighttime light pollution, in a country is expressed using the term “radiance”. Generally speaking, lower radiance indicates darker skies.
  • Values shown are derived by original source with the help of NASA’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument.
  • Values shown are averages. Nightly light levels can be impacted by many factors, most notably the phase of the moon and the degree of cloud cover.
  • Per 1000 values are computed using each country’s 2019 population.
  • Radiance is typically expressed in watts per square centimeter per steradian (W/(cm^2 -sr)) or nano watts per square centimeter per steradian (nW/(cm^2 -sr)), which measure the amount of radiant energy reaching a given unit of area per unit of solid angle. Data shown below are expressed in nW/(cm^2 -sr)
  • Radiance in countries with a significant portion of territory about 55 degrees latitude may be heavily impacted by aurora borealis activity.
  • The tiny Pacific Island country Niue, which has the world’s lowest radiance (and lowest level of light pollution), was the first entire country to be officially declared an International Dark Sky Place by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), which happened in 2020.
  • By comparison, well-lit micronations such as Vatican City, Macau, and Monaco—all of which are essentially city-sized countries with no rural area—have the highest levels of country-wide light pollution in the world.