The Best Countries to Date Millennials
If you're willing to travel any distance in your quest for love, it might be time to book that ticket to the 2016 summer Olympics.
Brazil is the Best Country for Dating, according to nearly 6,000 18- to 35-year-olds who filled out surveys for the 2016 Best Countries rankings. The country known for its dazzling beaches, soccer prowess and beautiful people was ranked the highest in terms of being fun, friendly, sexy, trustworthy and approachable.
[SEE: The Best Countries for Dating, According to Millennials.]
That's no surprise to Maylan Lamhut Studart, a Brazilian from Rio de Janeiro who has been living in the New York City area for the past few years. "Brazil is the friendliest place in the world," says 27-year-old Studart, who left her country to pursue a career as a jockey in the U.S. She says many Brazilians meet in clubs and beaches, where it's common for men to approach women and express their interest.
The directness can be off-putting if you're not interested, she says. But it also has its benefits.
"I think that's one of the reasons I can't get a boyfriend in America - nobody will approach me," she says. "I'm like, 'What are you waiting for? I've been looking at you for 20 minutes! In Brazil they are so straightforward."
When it comes to the Best Country for Dating Millennial Women, New Zealand takes the top spot. The island nation has been undergoing a so called "man drought" for years, with figures showing there are 91 men for every 100 women in the 25-49 age group. Other countries at the top of the list include Brazil and Spain.
Italy is the top country for dating millennial men, followed by Saudi Arabia. Yes -- Saudi Arabia. Perhaps dating is easier when the guidelines are so set. Millennials in the gulf state have to contend with some of the world's strictest gender-segregation rules. If single men and women are caught together they can be punished by the religious police.
[SEE: The Best Countries for Dating Millennial Men.]
The lists for Best Countries for Dating Millennial Women and Men were created using the same factors as the overall ranking -- fun, friendly, sexy, trustworthy and approachable -- and an additional gender ratio factor, based on the breakdown of men and women in a country's millennial population. The gender ratio factor had a higher weight than the other factors in these lists. Countries with more millennial men than women scored higher in the gender ratio factor in the Best Countries for Dating Millennial Men and vice versa.
The Best Countries rankings, formed in partnership with brand strategy firm BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, aim to gauge global perceptions of the world's biggest economies in terms of specific attributes associated with countries.
Devon Haynie is news editor, international for U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dhaynie@usnews.com.
