Global Light Pollution Rankings

Average SQM and light pollution ratio by country/region, based on VIIRS satellite data.

281 countries/regions

Rank
1	Ashmore & Cartier Is AT	21.82	1.0×	100.0%	1
2	Tokelau TL	21.81	1.0×	100.0%	5
3	Kiribati KR	21.80	1.0×	100.0%	91
4	Solomon Is BP	21.80	1.0×	100.0%	545
5	Clipperton Island IP	21.79	1.0×	100.0%	2
6	Tuvalu TV	21.79	1.0×	100.0%	13
7	US Minor Pacific Is. Refuges UM	21.79	1.0×	100.0%	8
8	Vanuatu NH	21.79	1.0×	100.0%	262
9	Eritrea ER	21.78	1.0×	100.0%	1,429
10	Navassa I BQ	21.78	1.0×	100.0%	2
11	Norfolk I NF	21.78	1.0×	100.0%	4
12	Palau PS	21.78	1.0×	100.0%	27
13	Papua New Guinea PP	21.78	1.0×	99.9%	5,287
14	Wallis & Futuna WF	21.78	1.0×	100.0%	8
15	Botswana BC	21.77	1.0×	99.8%	6,501
16	Christmas I KT	21.77	1.0×	100.0%	6
17	Cocos (Keeling) Is CK	21.77	1.0×	100.0%	2
18	Marshall Is RM	21.77	1.0×	100.0%	72
19	Namibia WA	21.77	1.0×	99.9%	9,255
20	Niue NE	21.77	1.0×	100.0%	9
21	Senkakus UU	21.77	1.0×	100.0%	1
22	Australia AS	21.76	1.1×	99.5%	87,934
23	Bir Tawil EG	21.76	1.1×	100.0%	29
24	Halaib Triangle SU	21.76	1.1×	99.9%	221
25	Madagascar MA	21.76	1.1×	100.0%	6,607
26	Pitcairn Is PC	21.76	1.1×	100.0%	5
27	Samoa WS	21.76	1.1×	100.0%	52
28	Wake I WQ	21.76	1.1×	100.0%	1
29	Zimbabwe ZI	21.76	1.1×	99.6%	4,322
30	Abyei Area UU	21.75	1.1×	100.0%	128
31	Angola AO	21.75	1.1×	99.5%	13,206
32	Chad CD	21.75	1.1×	99.9%	13,613
33	Djibouti DJ	21.75	1.1×	99.3%	270
34	Ethiopia ET	21.75	1.1×	99.8%	11,812
35	Mozambique MZ	21.75	1.1×	99.7%	8,720
36	New Caledonia NC	21.75	1.1×	99.5%	310
37	Sudan SU	21.75	1.1×	99.8%	19,517
38	Zambia ZA	21.75	1.1×	99.7%	8,116
39	Fiji FJ	21.74	1.1×	99.6%	366
40	Guyana GY	21.74	1.1×	99.7%	2,305
41	Haiti HA	21.74	1.1×	100.0%	387
42	Malawi MI	21.74	1.1×	99.2%	1,383
43	Peru PE	21.74	1.1×	99.2%	13,680
44	Somalia SO	21.74	1.1×	100.0%	6,709
45	Bolivia BL	21.73	1.1×	99.4%	11,724
46	British Indian Ocean Terr IO	21.73	1.1×	100.0%	13
47	Central African Rep CT	21.73	1.1×	100.0%	6,567
48	Comoros CN	21.73	1.1×	100.0%	39
49	Dem Rep of the Congo CG	21.73	1.1×	99.8%	24,106
50	French Guiana FG	21.73	1.1×	99.7%	915
51	Guinea-Bissau PU	21.73	1.1×	99.6%	452
52	Koualou Area UU	21.73	1.1×	100.0%	1
53	Niger NG	21.73	1.1×	100.0%	12,766
54	Suriname NS	21.73	1.1×	99.8%	1,585
55	Timor-Leste TT	21.73	1.1×	98.9%	206
56	Yemen YM	21.73	1.1×	99.4%	4,969
57	Cameroon CM	21.72	1.1×	99.6%	4,963
58	Cook Is CW	21.72	1.1×	100.0%	27
59	Laos LA	21.72	1.1×	99.6%	2,691
60	Lesotho LT	21.72	1.1×	99.5%	405
61	Rep of the Congo CF	21.72	1.1×	99.5%	3,713
62	St Helena SH	21.72	1.1×	100.0%	14
63	Tanzania TZ	21.72	1.1×	99.6%	9,811
64	Burkina Faso UV	21.71	1.1×	99.7%	2,992
65	Cambodia CB	21.71	1.1×	99.4%	2,011
66	French Polynesia FP	21.71	1.1×	98.2%	237
67	Gabon GB	21.71	1.1×	99.5%	2,834
68	Mali ML	21.71	1.1×	99.9%	13,659
69	Mauritania MR	21.71	1.1×	99.9%	11,438
70	Western Sahara WI	21.71	1.1×	99.8%	3,187
71	Isla Brasilera UU	21.70	1.1×	100.0%	1
72	Kenya KE	21.70	1.1×	99.6%	6,143
73	Nicaragua NU	21.70	1.1×	99.3%	1,446
74	South Sudan OD	21.70	1.1×	99.2%	6,811
75	Uganda UG	21.70	1.1×	99.4%	2,543
76	Benin BN	21.69	1.1×	99.7%	1,300
77	Burma BM	21.69	1.1×	99.6%	7,785
78	Colombia CO	21.69	1.1×	98.6%	11,967
79	Invernada Area BR	21.69	1.1×	100.0%	6
80	Liberia LI	21.69	1.1×	99.9%	1,077
81	Sierra Leone SL	21.69	1.1×	99.9%	824
82	Afghanistan AF	21.68	1.1×	99.8%	8,091
83	Aksai Chin UU	21.68	1.1×	100.0%	441
84	Argentina AR	21.68	1.1×	98.2%	35,397
85	Brazil BR	21.68	1.1×	98.2%	89,053
86	Burundi BY	21.68	1.1×	99.6%	320
87	Demchok Area UU	21.68	1.1×	100.0%	32
88	Dramana-Shakatoe Area UU	21.68	1.1×	100.0%	6
89	Fed States of Micronesia FM	21.68	1.1×	100.0%	36
90	Korea, North KN	21.68	1.1×	99.7%	1,786
91	Mongolia MG	21.68	1.1×	99.9%	23,428
92	Montserrat MH	21.68	1.1×	100.0%	4
93	New Zealand NZ	21.68	1.1×	98.9%	4,095
94	Belize BH	21.67	1.1×	99.2%	290
95	Bhutan BT	21.67	1.1×	99.5%	492
96	Guinea GV	21.67	1.1×	99.8%	2,712
97	IN-CH Small Disputed Areas UU	21.67	1.1×	100.0%	62
98	Libya LY	21.67	1.1×	98.7%	18,646
99	Senegal SG	21.67	1.1×	99.1%	2,202
100	Bahamas, The BF	21.66	1.2×	98.3%	358
101	Chile CI	21.66	1.2×	98.1%	11,281
102	Equatorial Guinea EK	21.66	1.2×	98.3%	319
103	Indonesia ID	21.66	1.2×	97.6%	21,747
104	Kalapani Area UU	21.66	1.2×	100.0%	2
105	Nigeria NI	21.66	1.2×	98.2%	9,564
106	Paraguay PA	21.66	1.2×	98.4%	4,585
107	Uruguay UY	21.66	1.2×	98.1%	2,244
108	Venezuela VE	21.66	1.2×	97.3%	9,725
109	Cabo Verde CV	21.65	1.2×	99.6%	99
110	Panama PM	21.65	1.2×	97.8%	956
111	South Africa SF	21.65	1.2×	97.7%	14,457
112	Philippines RP	21.64	1.2×	97.5%	3,882
113	Siachen-Saltoro Area UU	21.64	1.2×	100.0%	57
114	Tonga TN	21.64	1.2×	100.0%	29
115	Turkmenistan TX	21.64	1.2×	98.6%	6,625
116	Algeria AG	21.63	1.2×	97.6%	26,810
117	Cuba CU	21.63	1.2×	98.6%	1,459
118	Falkland Islands FA	21.63	1.2×	100.0%	298
119	Gambia, The GA	21.63	1.2×	97.7%	167
120	Kazakhstan KZ	21.63	1.2×	99.4%	41,862
121	Togo TO	21.63	1.2×	99.0%	659
122	Dominica DO	21.62	1.2×	100.0%	14
123	Kyrgyzstan KG	21.62	1.2×	99.1%	2,886
124	St Pierre & Miquelon SB	21.62	1.2×	100.0%	15
125	Tajikistan TI	21.62	1.2×	98.9%	2,035
126	Turks & Caicos Is TK	21.62	1.2×	92.1%	29
127	Ukraine UP	21.62	1.2×	99.1%	9,639
128	United States (Hawaii) US	21.62	1.2×	94.4%	278
129	Cote d'Ivoire IV	21.61	1.2×	98.8%	3,440
130	French S & Antarctic Lands FS	21.61	1.2×	100.0%	197
131	Honduras HO	21.61	1.2×	98.2%	1,307
132	Sao Tome & Principe TP	21.61	1.2×	100.0%	21
133	Egypt EG	21.60	1.2×	94.5%	11,265
134	Pakistan PK	21.60	1.2×	98.4%	10,589
135	Sri Lanka CE	21.60	1.2×	98.5%	759
136	Svalbard SV	21.60	1.2×	100.0%	17
137	Uzbekistan UZ	21.60	1.2×	98.2%	6,418
138	Guatemala GT	21.59	1.2×	97.6%	1,245
139	Northern Mariana Is CQ	21.59	1.2×	100.0%	33
140	Rwanda RW	21.59	1.2×	97.5%	300
141	Spratly Is PG	21.59	1.2×	100.0%	1
142	Syria SY	21.59	1.2×	97.4%	2,480
143	Maldives MV	21.58	1.2×	98.4%	95
144	Mexico MX	21.58	1.2×	96.4%	22,484
145	Morocco MO	21.58	1.2×	96.8%	5,098
146	Nepal NP	21.58	1.2×	98.8%	1,845
147	Saudi Arabia SA	21.57	1.3×	94.5%	21,667
148	Armenia AM	21.56	1.3×	97.2%	469
149	China CH	21.56	1.3×	95.9%	120,152
150	Oman MU	21.56	1.3×	94.7%	3,532
151	Belarus BO	21.55	1.3×	98.3%	3,696
152	Cayman Is CJ	21.55	1.3×	100.0%	16
153	Grenada GJ	21.55	1.3×	100.0%	10
154	Isle of Man IM	21.55	1.3×	100.0%	20
155	Moldova MD	21.55	1.3×	98.2%	593
156	St Vincent & the Grenadines VC	21.55	1.3×	100.0%	11
157	Costa Rica CS	21.54	1.3×	96.3%	628
158	Latvia LG	21.54	1.3×	97.8%	1,301
159	Malaysia MY	21.54	1.3×	92.5%	3,739
160	Sinafir & Tiran Is. UU	21.54	1.3×	100.0%	7
161	American Samoa AQ	21.53	1.3×	100.0%	10
162	Ecuador EC	21.53	1.3×	93.9%	2,806
163	Ghana GH	21.53	1.3×	96.7%	2,571
164	Swaziland WZ	21.53	1.3×	97.9%	222
165	Georgia GG	21.52	1.3×	96.8%	1,062
166	S Georgia & S Sandwich Is SX	21.52	1.3×	100.0%	131
167	Azerbaijan AJ	21.51	1.3×	95.6%	1,308
168	Korean Is. (UN Jurisdiction) UU	21.51	1.3×	100.0%	2
169	Lithuania LH	21.51	1.3×	97.0%	1,250
170	Estonia EN	21.50	1.3×	97.6%	1,026
171	Macedonia MK	21.50	1.3×	95.3%	393
172	Seychelles SE	21.50	1.3×	100.0%	34
173	Tunisia TS	21.50	1.3×	94.5%	2,051
174	Bulgaria BU	21.49	1.4×	95.9%	1,643
175	Iran IR	21.49	1.4×	93.7%	19,835
176	Montenegro MJ	21.48	1.4×	92.7%	237
177	Bangladesh BG	21.47	1.4×	96.7%	1,766
178	Portugal (Azores) PO	21.47	1.4×	91.9%	81
179	Saint Lucia ST	21.47	1.4×	100.0%	15
180	Austria AU	21.46	1.4×	95.9%	1,393
181	Faroe Is FO	21.46	1.4×	96.5%	76
182	France FR	21.46	1.4×	94.7%	8,416
183	Nauru NR	21.46	1.4×	100.0%	2
184	United States US	21.46	1.4×	92.7%	104,168
185	Vietnam VM	21.46	1.4×	92.0%	3,891
186	Albania AL	21.45	1.4×	94.0%	447
187	Bosnia & Herzegovina BK	21.45	1.4×	94.0%	809
188	El Salvador ES	21.45	1.4×	93.9%	261
189	Romania RO	21.45	1.4×	95.9%	3,602
190	Brunei BX	21.44	1.4×	88.0%	93
191	Heard I & McDonald Is HM	21.44	1.4×	100.0%	15
192	Jordan JO	21.44	1.4×	88.4%	1,151
193	Paracel Is PF	21.44	1.4×	100.0%	1
194	Anguilla AV	21.43	1.4×	100.0%	5
195	Canada CA	21.43	1.4×	99.5%	195,542
196	Russia RS	21.43	1.4×	99.3%	282,075
197	Hungary HU	21.42	1.4×	94.9%	1,497
198	Japan JA	21.42	1.4×	90.3%	5,736
199	Slovakia LO	21.42	1.4×	95.3%	839
200	Ireland EI	21.41	1.5×	96.2%	1,352
201	Slovenia SI	21.40	1.5×	94.6%	361
202	Switzerland SZ	21.40	1.5×	92.0%	701
203	Dominican Republic DR	21.39	1.5×	90.0%	604
204	Greenland GL	21.39	1.5×	100.0%	39,210
205	Sweden SW	21.39	1.5×	96.7%	10,271
206	Croatia HR	21.38	1.5×	94.0%	1,056
207	India IN	21.38	1.5×	93.9%	35,646
208	Spain SP	21.38	1.5×	90.5%	6,892
209	Guernsey GK	21.37	1.5×	100.0%	3
210	Jamaica JM	21.37	1.5×	96.3%	156
211	Thailand TH	21.37	1.5×	91.7%	5,823
212	Greece GR	21.36	1.5×	91.8%	2,358
213	Reunion RE	21.36	1.5×	88.4%	38
214	British Virgin Is VI	21.35	1.5×	61.4%	8
215	Finland FI	21.35	1.5×	95.5%	8,169
216	Turkey TU	21.35	1.5×	91.1%	10,555
217	Denmark DA	21.34	1.6×	91.9%	1,030
218	Jan Mayen JN	21.33	1.6×	100.0%	28
219	Norway NO	21.33	1.6×	96.1%	8,550
220	Poland PL	21.33	1.6×	91.5%	5,302
221	Czechia EZ	21.32	1.6×	90.9%	1,345
222	Iceland IC	21.32	1.6×	98.9%	2,723
223	Iraq IZ	21.32	1.6×	85.1%	5,446
224	Serbia RI	21.32	1.6×	89.6%	1,212
225	United States (Alaska) US	21.32	1.6×	99.7%	36,861
226	Netherlands (Caribbean) NL	21.31	1.6×	70.5%	12
227	United Kingdom UK	21.31	1.6×	87.3%	4,815
228	Germany GM	21.30	1.6×	90.6%	6,039
229	Mayotte MF	21.29	1.6×	100.0%	13
230	St Martin RN	21.29	1.6×	100.0%	3
231	Martinique MB	21.27	1.7×	85.8%	23
232	Portugal PO	21.24	1.7×	85.0%	1,292
233	St Kitts & Nevis SC	21.23	1.7×	85.7%	10
234	Spain (Canary Is) SP	21.22	1.7×	83.5%	159
235	Guadeloupe GP	21.21	1.8×	83.1%	37
236	Liechtenstein LS	21.20	1.8×	78.3%	9
237	Cyprus CY	21.18	1.8×	82.3%	149
238	Kosovo KV	21.18	1.8×	81.8%	188
239	Andorra AN	21.16	1.8×	68.6%	14
240	Barbados BB	21.15	1.9×	78.0%	12
241	Lebanon LE	21.15	1.9×	80.2%	158
242	St Barthelemy TB	21.13	1.9×	100.0%	2
243	Portugal (Madeira Is) PO	21.12	1.9×	88.7%	22
244	Bouvet Island BV	21.09	2.0×	50.9%	5
245	Mauritius MP	21.07	2.0×	78.3%	43
246	Jersey JE	21.06	2.0×	73.3%	8
247	United Arab Emirates AE	21.05	2.0×	70.4%	898
248	Antigua & Barbuda AC	21.04	2.1×	64.9%	17
249	Gaza Strip GZ	21.04	2.1×	87.7%	11
250	Guam GQ	21.04	2.1×	63.3%	17
251	Dhekelia DX	21.03	2.1×	91.6%	9
252	Italy IT	21.02	2.1×	71.8%	4,563
253	Taiwan TW	20.99	2.1×	65.6%	488
254	Luxembourg LU	20.98	2.2×	80.0%	60
255	Korea, South KS	20.94	2.2×	72.2%	1,413
256	Curacao UC	20.93	2.3×	64.0%	14
257	Belgium BE	20.89	2.4×	61.6%	559
258	Bermuda BD	20.86	2.4×	57.5%	5
259	Puerto Rico RQ	20.86	2.4×	66.6%	129
260	Dragonja River Mouth UU	20.85	2.4×	100.0%	1
261	Netherlands NL	20.82	2.5×	62.6%	714
262	US Virgin Is VQ	20.80	2.6×	55.1%	15
263	Akrotiri AX	20.76	2.7×	36.4%	9
264	Trinidad & Tobago TD	20.73	2.7×	57.3%	79
265	Gibraltar GI	20.71	2.8×	0.0%	1
266	Kuwait KU	20.70	2.8×	58.8%	252
267	Israel IS	20.65	2.9×	53.3%	319
268	Aruba AA	20.64	3.0×	35.2%	7
269	Sint Maarten NN	20.57	3.2×	40.6%	4
270	Qatar QA	20.35	3.9×	49.2%	167
271	San Marino SM	20.31	4.0×	6.2%	5
272	West Bank WE	20.21	4.4×	20.5%	91
273	Spain (Africa) SP	20.13	4.7×	21.7%	6
274	Monaco MN	20.07	5.0×	0.0%	2
275	Malta MT	20.03	5.2×	13.5%	12
276	Hong Kong HK	19.77	6.6×	14.6%	26
277	No Man's Land NM	19.73	6.9×	0.0%	6
278	Bahrain BA	19.23	10.9×	9.3%	27
279	Macau MC	18.91	14.6×	0.0%	1
280	Singapore SN	18.87	15.1×	0.0%	15
281	Vatican City VT	18.71	17.5×	0.0%	1

How this is calculated

Avg SQM is the average of a simplified per-pixel SQM estimate (same formula this site's map and location detail panel use) over each country/region's land area, from the annual VIIRS night-light composite — not the same atmospheric propagation model or exact boundary dataset a professional light-pollution atlas would use, so treat differences of a few hundredths as noise. Ratio is the sky-background brightness multiple versus the darkest country/region in this list (10^((darkest − this)/2.5), the standard astronomical magnitude relationship). "Bortle ≤ 4" is the share of that area at Bortle class 4 or darker.