When you think about the quintessential Aussie, you tend to think of someone with an adventurous spirit. And it's no secret that people from other countries assume we surf all day long and get around by riding a kangaroo or driving a massive 4WD. And now, a new global study has proven there might be some truth to that popular stereotype (minus the part about the kangaroo – true Aussies know to steer clear of wild roos if we value our internal organs).
Australia has just been crowned the most adventurous country in the world (a very cool title to have), after an analysis of the popularity of 14 different adventure sports. Winter sports enthusiast website Snow Season Central is behind the study, which was based on Google search volume of sporting phrases over a 12-month period, for terms like skydiving, skiing, scuba diving, mountain biking and more. The results found that Australia came out on top as the country with the highest search volume per capita, and by a decent margin, too. There it is: we're officially an adventurous bunch.
According to the study, our top searched adventure sports were hiking, surfing, BMX bike riding and scuba diving. When you think about it, our daredevil tendencies make a lot of sense — when you've got incredible mountain ranges, beaches and bushland in your backyard, it's only logical to get outside and make the most of it. Australia also had the second-highest number of searches for mountain biking, climbing, skateboarding, skydiving and waterskiing — and that just goes to show we really can do it all.
Coming in second place on the most adventurous countries list was Canada, followed by the United States and Finland.
Here is the full ranked list of the top ten countries:
- Australia
- Canada
- United States
- Finland
- New Zealand
- France
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- Singapore
- Denmark
If the most adventurous title wasn't enough to make you feel proud, Australia was also recently named as one of the top five countries in the world. All we'll say is — you bloody beauty!