Most "beachy" countries in the World (home, calculation)

[CurlyFries]

I saw the "beachiest" state in America thread and decided to do one for the world.

Which countries do you associate the most with beaches? In other words, when some one mentions the country, you immediately picture a coastal or beach scene before all else.

I'll post mine soon.

[danielsa1775]

Well Australia has more beaches than any other country in the world - Over 7000 sand beaches hear, Bondi in sydney is worlds oldest surf life saving club and we have also produced 10 different world mens surfing champions (The same number as the USA/Hawaii), and 16 of the last 21 womens world titles have also being won Australian nationals as well.
So its hard to argue beyond home for this one, i am not sure weather foreigners automatically associate australia with the beach however.

As for countries I automatically assoicate with the Beach? Well any pacific island really, indonesia and brazil are others that come to mind as well.

[sponger42]

The Maldives. Pretty much nothing but beaches. Very relaxing on the resort islands.
The Greek isles have a lot of nice beaches.

[kevxu]

Originally Posted by sponger42

The Maldives. Pretty much nothing but beaches. Very relaxing on the resort islands.
The Greek isles have a lot of nice beaches.

I think the Maldives have hands down, they are virtually nothing but beach.

[Teak]

Malaysia has a lot of beaches. With the Strait of Malacca on one side (of Peninsular Malaysia), and the South China Sea on the other, there are a lot of beaches. The states of Sarawak and Sabah (north side of Borneo) both have a lot of coastline with the South China Sea also.

Australia has a lot of beach, obviously, but a lot of dead interior also. How would it look if one did a Beach:Land Area ratio? The Maldives would probably be #1 in that calculation.

I would take a guess at the top 5 in a Beach:Land Area calculation:
1. Maldives
2. Philippines
3. Indonesia
4. Japan
5. Malaysia

[Thomas R.]

Going by coastline to land area, and avoiding a few very small countries, the following are likely high.

The Bahamas
Kiribati
Federated States of Micronesia
Palau
The Philippines
The Solomon Islands

[Trimac20]

Fiji

[JordanJP]

Thailand

[TropicalAussie]

Anywhere South Pacific

[vamos]

I'm throwing Costa Rica into this - Caribbean coast on one side, Pacific on the other. Possible to drive from one to the other within a day. In other words, watch the sun rise on one and watch it set on the other - that's pretty cool.