Misc
World Cities Ranked by Average Annual Sunshine Hours
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World Cities Ranked by Average Annual Sunshine Hours
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While we all see the same sky, we see it a bit differently depending on where we stand.
For those in the planetโs most extreme regions, the sun doesn’t follow the same pattern of seasons as it does in more temperate regions.
Todayโs visualization comes from Sleepopolis and summarizes the top cities on each continent that receive the most and least annual sunshine hours.
Ranked: Cities with the Least and Most Sunshine Hours
While the graphic groups the top five cities from each continent, the tables below highlight the top 10 cities from around the world that boast the highest and lowest annual sunshine hours.
Top 10 Cities with the Most Annual Sunshine
City | Country | Climate | # of Sunshine Hours |
---|---|---|---|
Yuma | United States | Arid | 4,015.3 |
Marsa Alam | Egypt | Arid | 3,958.0 |
Dakhla Oasis | Egypt | Arid | 3,943.4 |
Calama | Chile | Arid, Marine West Coast, Tundra | 3,926.2 |
Phoenix | United States | Arid | 3,871.6 |
Keetmanshoop | Namibia | Arid | 3,870.0 |
Las Vegas | United States | Arid | 3,825.3 |
Tucson | United States | Arid | 3,806.0 |
Kharga | Egypt | Arid | 3,790.8 |
El Paso | United States | Semiarid | 3,762.5 |
The sunniest city on Earth is Yuma, Arizona in the U.S. As the driest city in the U.S., Yuma receives less than 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rainfall and endures roughly 100 days of 40ยฐC (104ยฐF) weather every year. Yuma lies between the Gila and Colorado rivers, in a lush region that produces almost 90% of leafy vegetables grown in the U.S.
Arizona boasts three of the top 10 sunniest cities in the world, including Phoenix in the fifth spot, which is the 5th most populous city in the U.S. and is known as โthe Valley of the Sunโ.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Egypt also has three cities in the top 10 list, with Marsa Alam, Dakhla Oasis, and Kharga claiming the 2nd, 3rd, and 9th sunniest spots, respectively. Dakhla Oasis, or “inner oasis”, receives practically zero precipitation each year.
Top 10 Cities with the Least Annual Sunshine
City | Country | Climate | # of Sunshine Hours |
---|---|---|---|
Totorรณ | Colombia | Marine West Coast | 637.0 |
Tรณrshavn | Faroe Islands | Marine West Coast | 840.0 |
Chongqing | China | Humid Subtropical | 954.8 |
Dikson | Russia | Tundra | 1,164.3 |
Malabo | Equatorial Guinea | Tropical Wet and Dry | 1,176.7 |
Buenaventura | Colombia | Tropical Wet and Dry, Humid Subtropical | 1,178.0 |
Lima | Peru | Arid | 1,230.0 |
Ushuaia | Argentina | Tundra | 1,281.2 |
Reykjavik | Iceland | Tundra, Marine West Coast | 1,326.0 |
Bogotรก | Colombia | Marine West Coast | 1,328.0 |
Although perceived as a sunny location, Colombia borders both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, exposing it to higher variety in weather patterns and precipitation. Colombia alone is home to three of the top 10 cities with the lowest hours of annual sunshine.
Ranking second-to-last in the number of sunshine hours, Torshavn lies between the Scottish coast and Iceland and receives roughly 37 days of sunshine every year; the average temperatures on this island barely reach above 5ยฐC (41ยฐF).
Our sun doesnโt shine at the same level of brightness all the time. NASA has observed that the sun goes through โsolar cyclesโ that last roughly 11 yearsโbrightening and dimming at relatively regular intervals and impacting how intensely we receive sunlight at any given time.
Sunshine Near the Poles
Humans typically need exposure to the sun to maintain healthy sleep habits, as our brain has been hardwired to follow natural waking and sleeping rhythms.
However, several cities experience no sun at all for several months at a time in what’s known as the “Polar Night”.
- Tromsรธ, Norway: winter darkness is enjoyed rather than endured, as it can last for over a month
- Svalbard, Norway: even indirect sunlight is absent, with no change in sunlight to help indicate a 24-hour day
- Dikson, Russia: receives no sunlight whatsoever in December
Wherever you live, people have been watching and tracking the movements of the sun with rapt attention for millennia, even when we couldn’t see it.
Misc
Visualizing the World’s Flower Bouquet Export Market
This graphic highlights global flower bouquet sales in 2021 and how a few countries dominate the entire flower export market.

Visualizing the World’s Flower Bouquet Export Market
For many, flower bouquets are the go-to gift choice when congratulating a colleague, visiting an ailing relative, or simply showing love and kindness to partners and friends.
And the global popularity of these carefully-arranged and vividly-colored bundles has led to the creation of a billion-dollar flower bouquet market. And demand for beautiful bouquets has kept growing, with global flower bouquet exports in 2021 reaching $11 billionโwhich is a 30.2% rise since 2017.
Louis Lugas Wicaksono uses data from Worldโs Top Exports to highlight the spread of this industry. In this image, he shows the flower bouquet exports across different countries in 2021.
Countries Trading the Most Flower Bouquets
Far at the top of the list and best known for their tulips, the Netherlands dominated the flower bouquet export industry in 2021.
Rank | Country | Continent | Flower Bouquet Exports (2021 USD) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | Europe | $5.7B |
2 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | America | $1.7B |
3 | ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | America | $927.3M |
4 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | Africa | $725.5M |
5 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | Africa | $254.5M |
6 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | Europe | $150.0M |
7 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | Europe | $140.9M |
8 | ๐จ๐ณ China | Asia | $124.6M |
9 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | Asia | $90.5M |
10 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | America | $82.0M |
11 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | Asia | $77.5M |
12 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | Africa | $70.4M |
13 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | Europe | $69.6M |
14 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | Europe | $65.8M |
15 | ๐น๐ท Turkey | Asia | $59.4M |
๐ Rest of the world | $735.2M |
The small European nation exported $5.7 billion worth of bouquets in 2021, accounting for over half of global flower bouquet trade. This dominance comes from centuries of being the world’s largest producer of flowers and being a floral trade hub due to its advantageous location and connections with other growers, suppliers, and wholesalers.
Colombia and Ecuador fall next on this list with their exports totaling $1.7 billion and $927 million, respectively. Roses, carnations, and chrysanthemums are heavily exported from these South American nations.
On the other side of the Atlantic, cut rose flower exports were the leading drivers for Kenya and Ethiopia, earning these African nations $725 million and $254 million respectively.
Together, these five nations contributed to 85% of the worldโs flower bouquet trade in 2021.
Post-Pandemic Strategies
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the flower bouquet export industry remained resilient. However, this was not an easy feat.
Many florists embraced new strategies like online sales and free home deliveries, and exporters dealt with global shipping slowdowns. Some countries including Columbia and Kenya focused on producing flowers with longer shelf lives that could be shipped further away.
As we continue to drift away from the pandemic and global trade eases up, we can expect this industry to blossom further.
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