# What country is the roundest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836 "2013-02-19T22:11:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/21 "2013-02-20T14:20:04Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > And Ethiopia looks like a [duck](http://0.tqn.com/d/geography/1/0/7/K/ethiopia.jpg). Or a boar’s head. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/22 "2013-02-20T15:44:29Z")
I think Italy looks like a high heel boot. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/23 "2013-02-20T15:48:54Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I think Italy looks like a high heel boot. Strangely, nobody ever noticed that before. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/24 "2013-02-20T15:54:06Z")
I also think when you eat a boneless piece of steak politely at a restaurant, it always ends up toward the end looking like France. I’ve mentioned this before on GQ but other posters put their lips out to scorn. They have eyes but cannot see. I have other talents, but they will remain hidden until necessary. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/25 "2013-02-20T16:02:13Z")
I have an irregular hole punch for crafting that I call Lesotho. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/26 "2013-02-20T16:24:55Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I think Italy looks like a high heel boot. The [UK](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=UK&hl=en&ll=54.572062,-2.592773&spn=9.231273,28.256836&sll=-20.349777,57.55188&sspn=0.932199,1.766052&oq=uk&t=h&gl=uk&hnear=United+Kingdom&z=5) looks like a witch riding a pig. The [Baltic Sea](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=baltic+sea&hl=en&sll=54.572062,-2.592773&sspn=9.231273,28.256836&t=h&gl=uk&hnear=Baltic+Sea&z=4) looks like a guy peeing on St. Petersburg. As for round countries, I nominate [Mauritius](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=mauritius&hl=en&ll=-20.349777,57.55188&spn=0.932199,1.766052&sll=7.873054,80.771797&sspn=3.938791,7.064209&t=h&gl=uk&hnear=Mauritius&z=9). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/27 "2013-02-20T16:50:51Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > As for round countries, I nominate [Mauritius](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=mauritius&hl=en&ll=-20.349777,57.55188&spn=0.932199,1.766052&sll=7.873054,80.771797&sspn=3.938791,7.064209&t=h&gl=uk&hnear=Mauritius&z=9). La Réunion, just to the west, looks rounder, but is a French dependency, not a proper country. [Niue](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=mauritius&hl=en&ll=-19.040051,-169.877472&spn=0.455655,0.823975&sll=7.873054,80.771797&sspn=3.938791,7.064209&t=h&gl=uk&hnear=Mauritius&z=10) has also been mentioned, but also fails the fully-independent test. On a much smaller scale, [Alidhoo](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Alidhoo,+Haa+Alifu+Atoll,+Upper+North+Province,+Maldives&hl=en&ll=6.84914,73.152359&spn=0.007393,0.012875&sll=-4.339565,55.778961&sspn=0.118791,0.205994&oq=alidhoo&t=h&hnear=Alidhoo&z=16) in the Maldives might just be the most perfectly circular natural island in existence. [Deception Island](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Deception+Island,+Antarctica&hl=en&ll=-62.968957,-60.612946&spn=0.216574,0.823975&sll=27.899777,-15.419312&sspn=0.842272,1.647949&oq=deception+isl&t=m&hnear=Deception+Island&z=10), in the South Atlantic, is less perfectly circular but gains extra bonus cool points for being hollow. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![tallcoldone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@tallcoldone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tallcoldone)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/28 "2013-02-20T16:59:05Z")
Try Nevis: [http://www.nevisisland.com/Map.htm](http://www.nevisisland.com/Map.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/29 "2013-02-20T17:09:03Z")
> [@tallcoldone](#): > > Try Nevis: [http://www.nevisisland.com/Map.htm](http://www.nevisisland.com/Map.htm) That’s pretty round, but the [country](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis) also includes St Kitts, which is more fish-shaped. Or maybe a chicken drumstick. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/30 "2013-02-20T19:34:46Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Isn’t Vatican City square? That ain’t round, last time I checked. [This ain’t square](http://goo.gl/maps/6QWZj), last time I checked. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/31 "2013-02-20T19:53:24Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > [Deception Island](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Deception+Island,+Antarctica&hl=en&ll=-62.968957,-60.612946&spn=0.216574,0.823975&sll=27.899777,-15.419312&sspn=0.842272,1.647949&oq=deception+isl&t=m&hnear=Deception+Island&z=10), in the South Atlantic, is less perfectly circular but gains extra bonus cool points for being hollow. 🆒 Reading on Wikipedia, it has been home to both whaling and military bases. Unfortunately, no evil overlord secret bases, that we know of. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/32 "2013-02-20T20:01:01Z")
Mathematica has a lot of country data pre-programmed in, including “large-scale boundary length” and “land area”. So I ran a quick calculation along the lines of **septimus** ’s above (and with many of the same caveats), using **Pasta** ’s proposed figure of merit. Here are the top 20 roundest countries in my results:[ol][_]Mauritius[_]Swaziland[_]Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[_]Libya (!)[_]Barbados[_]Tuvalu[_]Algeria[_]Macedonia[_]Vatican City[_]Zimbabwe[_]Equatorial Guinea[_]San Marino[_]Yemen[_]Ethiopia[_]Saudi Arabia[_]Trinidad and Tobago[_]Niger[_]Sierra Leone[_]Egypt[_]Nigeria[/ol]Obviously there are some bugs to be worked out here. The prevalence of North African countries is kind of strange until you realize that a lot of their borders are straight lines, which allows them to “economize” on boundary length despite their weird shapes. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/33 "2013-02-20T20:15:13Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > [This ain’t square](http://goo.gl/maps/6QWZj), last time I checked. Un-hip, maybe… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/34 "2013-02-20T20:17:17Z")
Is the least-round country Chile? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/35 "2013-02-20T20:18:06Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > … So I ran a quick calculation along the lines of **septimus** ’s above (and with many of the same caveats), using **Pasta** ’s proposed figure of merit. Here are the top 20 roundest countries in my results:… Mauritius … Tuvalu … etc. > Obviously there are some bugs to be worked out here. The prevalence of North African countries is kind of strange until you realize that a lot of their borders are straight lines, which allows them to “economize” on boundary length despite their weird shapes. This list is quite similar to the output of my own program, though I deleted some of the “wrong-looking” ones from the brief subset I posted. For example, [Tuvalu](http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/9and3quarters/9and3quarters1210/9and3quarters121000012/15904245-tuvalu-map-and-flag.jpg) is arguably one of the least “round” countries, although I suppose it may make a difference whether you measure it at low- or high-tide. I didn’t pursue _why_ it seemed “round,” but it is almost certainly due to mistakes in the input – perhaps _Mathematica_ also got its data from CIA. I also noted the “problem” with straight-dope boundaries that **MikeS** mentions, but couldn’t articulate it as well as him, so didn’t try. :o ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/36 "2013-02-20T20:35:39Z")
I would do it like this if I had an hour or two to spare today: Go to this site: [http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/namefiles.htm](http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/namefiles.htm) (Note, this only has the locations for “features”. So if the border of the country extends far into regions with no features, this is not accurate. I couldn’t find anything better though.) Download the data for all countries. For each country: - Load the coordinates - (Prune so that each country has the same feature to area ratio.) - Find the center - Test circles with increasingly larger circumferences: – For each point on a discretized circle, find the nearest coordinate, measure the distance. Get the sum of these distances. The lowest sum of distances found for each country, is that country’s “anti-roundness”. The country with the lowest anti-roundness sum is the roundest. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/37 "2013-02-20T20:36:23Z")
The country I was going to suggest came in #1! Cool! Regarding Tuvalu – as an island nation, maybe its official boundary is some line in the ocean encircling the entire archipelago. cj > [@septimus](#): > > This list is quite similar to the output of my own program, though I deleted some of the “wrong-looking” ones from the brief subset I posted. > > For example, [Tuvalu](http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/9and3quarters/9and3quarters1210/9and3quarters121000012/15904245-tuvalu-map-and-flag.jpg) is arguably one of the least “round” countries, although I suppose it may make a difference whether you measure it at low- or high-tide. I didn’t pursue _why_ it seemed “round,” but it is almost certainly due to mistakes in the input – perhaps _Mathematica_ also got its data from CIA. > > I also noted the “problem” with straight-dope boundaries that **MikeS** mentions, but couldn’t articulate it as well as him, so didn’t try. :o ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/38 "2013-02-20T20:58:21Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Regarding Tuvalu – as an island nation, maybe its official boundary is some line in the ocean encircling the entire archipelago. Perhaps. But both **MikeS** and myself checked, not for “roundness” per se, but for a measure based on land area – and Tuvalu has very little land within its “circle.” 🆒 [QUOTE=septimus] I also noted the “problem” with straight-dope boundaries [/QUOTE] This typo (“thinko”?) has amusing connotations – I’m glad I didn’t catch it! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/39 "2013-02-20T21:07:03Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I also noted the “problem” with straight-dope boundaries that **MikeS** mentions, but couldn’t articulate it as well as him, so didn’t try. :o To avoid the straight-line problem, you could try the following method instead: treat the country as a flat piece of cardboard with uniform density, and calculate the quantity (moment of inertia about center of mass)/(mass \* area) for this piece of cardboard. This would have a value of 1/2π for a perfect circle, and I _think_ would be larger for any other solid plane shape. Basically, the method would reward “compact” countries like Zimbabwe, while penalizing stretched-out countries like, say, Norway. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the CIA World Factbook publishes data on the moments of inertia of countries (damn their eyes), so another source of data would be needed. Mathematica has representations of all countries as polygons (at least in some projection — blah blah spherical Earth blah blah blah), but getting at the data in a useful way is tricky. If I have some free time tomorrow I’ll play around with this some more. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836/40 "2013-02-20T21:18:27Z")
Thing is, what do you do with offshore islands? Put them in place but disconnected? Ignore them? Equatorial Guinea is pretty compact if you just count the mainland part, but the offshore islands make it pretty spread out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-is-the-roundest/650836.md?page=3)