About this chart race
The lead has changed hands repeatedly. The United States topped the first lists in 1979-80, France led from 1981, India from 1988 and Spain from 1996. Italy has led outright every year since 2004 - but China, which had no World Heritage Sites at all before 1987, climbed to a dead heat at 55 each in 2019 and 2020 before Italy pulled clear again. Only three sites have ever been struck off: Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in 2007, Germany's Dresden Elbe Valley in 2009 and Liverpool in 2021.
This animated ranking shows how cumulative world heritage sites changed across 39 series between 1978 and 2026. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2026, Italy leads with 62.
Included in this race
Italy, China, France, Germany, Spain, India, Mexico, United Kingdom, Russia, Iran, United States, Japan, Brazil, Türkiye, Canada, Greece, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Czechia, Sweden, Peru, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Norway, Tanzania, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan, Libya, Ecuador, DR Congo, Nepal, Guatemala, Albania, Malta.
Source
Data from UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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