The countries with the strongest connection to nature, according to a new study

Do you need to touch grass? According to a brand new study, which investigated how connected with nature different nations are, the answer could be yes, immediately.

This wasn’t just any old study – it was the first large-scale piece of academic research into how social and environmental factors can impact our relationships with nature. More than 55,000 people across 61 countries were surveyed, which allowed the experts to draw conclusions about what makes individuals more likely to feel connected to the outdoors, and also how those levels of connection vary across the world.

Large-scale research project identifies countries with the strongest ‘human–nature relationship’

The study examined both external factors, like the weather you’ve been exposed to and how urban your country is, and internal ones, such as how religious or political you are, in order to figure out which country has the strongest ‘human–nature relationship’. The more ‘nature-connected’ a population is, the more likely it is to support ‘pro-nature’ policies, and to have an overall higher level of emotional wellbeing.

So, which country is the most at one with the world? According to Richardson et al (we told you this was high-quality research), the answer is Nepal. Home to the world’s tallest mountains, the Nepalese people live in and around some truly breathtaking nature, so it’s no surprise that they feel connected to it.

The study determined that ‘social, scientific, and spiritual values explain nature-connectedness’ more than external factors, with religious people being the most likely to feel a link to the planet of any group. This could explain why Nepal came first, as its population is generally pretty spiritual.

In second place was Iran, followed by South Africa. Most highly connected countries were in Asia, the Middle East, or Africa; but Chile, Croatia, and Bulgaria were notable exceptions in the top ten.

On the other side of the scale, Spain came dead last, despite being home to some gorgeous Mediterranean scenery. Japan and Israel were also in the bottom three, proving that access to stunning views does not actually have much impact on how close people feel to the natural world.

The most and least nature-connected countries in the world

These are the top 10 countries with populations who feel the strongest connection to nature, according to a 2025 study published in the Ambio scientific journal:

1. Nepal
2. Iran
3. South Africa
4. Bangladesh
5. Nigeria
6. Chile
7. Croatia
8. Ghana
9. Bulgaria
10. Tunisia

And here are the ten countries with the least personal relationships to Mother Nature, in reverse order:

• Spain
• Japan
• Israel
• Germany
• Canada
• Netherlands
• United Kingdom
• Saudi Arabia
• Ireland
• Russia

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