These Countries Are Tops For Positive Body Image

Kim Kardashian's amazing self-confidence aside, negative body image plagues the United States. Previous research has shown that American women have some of the most negative body images in the world, so it most likely won't come as a shock to hear that we didn't place particularly high in the ranking of countries with the best body image. If we didn't already know that we had a lot of work to do... well, now we're doubly sure of it, aren't we?

On the other hand, the countries that did make the top five may surprise you. Researchers at the market research firm YouGov polled respondents in 25 countries, and they found that countries like the United States and England aren't doing too well in terms of self-esteem. Researchers found that women were much more likely to have a negative body image than men, but more than a third of Britons overall reported being unhappy with their bodies. Happiness increased with age, though, with 68 percent of respondents over the age of sixty saying that they were fine with their bodies. Go, Grandma!

Interestingly, researchers also found that while 17 of the 25 countries blamed celebrity culture for their negative body images, the Middle East and Asia Pacific actually have a positive view of celebrities. Considering how highly Saudi Arabia and Qatar placed in the survey, maybe they're on to something.

So how do the top countries stack up against each other? Let's take a look. Counting down from most negative body image overall to most positive, we have:

9. Hong Kong

According to the study, Hong Kong is the only country where less than half of respondents reported being happy with their bodies.

8. United States

The good ol' United States, with our rampant body image issues, came in 9th. More than half of respondents reported happiness with their bodies, but that left 37 percent of the population unhappy.

7. Germany

Germany didn't do much better than the U.S. — 60 percent said they were happy, but 37 percent still reported dissatisfaction with their bodies.

6. The United Kingdom

As discussed above, more than a third of those polled in the U.K. were unhappy with their bodies.

5. Australia

63 percent of Australians reported being satisfied with their bodies, while 36 were less happy.

4. Egypt

Nearly 70 percent of Egyptians had positive body images, leaving less than a third unhappy.

3. Qatar

Just over a quarter of respondents in Qatar had negative body images.

2. Saudi Arabia

Almost three-quarters of Saudi Arabians were satisfied with their bodies.

1. Indonesia

Congratulations, Indonesia! Almost 80 percent of Indonesians have positive body images, and less than a quarter reported unhappiness. Teach us your ways, so that one day I, too, can be as confident as this pony.

Images: Peter Grifoni/Flickr; Giphy (6)