The 10 Sexiest Countries, Ranked By Perception

Some countries are sexy, and we all know it.

That goes for Brazil -- the land of bare-all beaches, crazy carnival and the smooth samba -- the sexiest country according to data from the 2017 U.S. News Best Countries rankings, a characterization of 80 countries based on a survey of more than 21,000 global citizens.

In the survey, respondents answered how closely they related each of the 80 countries to the term "sexy," an adjective that has Merriam-Webster juggling definitions from "erotic" to "appealing." Respondents were given no further specifications of the term, so interpretation of the word was left to them.

Brazil, the largest country in South America, also ranks No. 1 among the Best Countries for Adventure and holds top 10 finishes in rankings for the Best Countries to Travel Alone and Best Countries for Cultural Influence.

"Best," it seems, hardly correlates with sexiness. Switzerland, after all, holds the top spot in the overall best country ranking, but trailed more than two dozen others in this survey, ranking 36th sexiest.

And, as for Lady Liberty? America the beautiful ranked low on the list at 53rd sexiest country.

If it's any consolation, both countries managed to beat out South Korea, which earned the ranking's "least sexy country" accolade by landing the 80th spot.

Megan Trimble is an associate editor of social media for the News division at U.S. News & World Report. You can follow her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn or send her an email at mtrimble@usnews.com.