You won’t believe which country loves selfies the most (hint: it’s very close to our home)

Last Updated on 2016-05-30 , 9:36 am

Try guessing which city in the world has the most number of selfies taken. Maybe one in a developed country like the US? Or maybe one in a country that now sets the trend for the world like South Korea? Or maybe, a small country with high-spending power like Singapore?

Well, the US part is correct: according to Time.com , based on the ratio of selfies taken to the number of people living in a city, the US “wins” with three cities out of the top ten cities. But guess which is the city with the most number of selfies taken?

Don’t go so far; it’s nearer than you can imagine. It’s in the Philippines, in Makati and Pasig. We now know why some of our Filipino friends always stop halfway during a walk just to take a selfie, and why one of my Filipino friends always insist on buying a phone with a good front-facing camera. Do you know that another of their city, Cebu City, is also in the top 10?

But even closer to home is one interesting result: Petaling Jaya in Malaysia is #5. Yes, we all know how Malaysians like to take selfies, and how addicted they are to their phones, but the world is so big and our dear Malaysia gets #5? I mean, yes, our prime ministers (Singapore and Malaysia) did take a selfie together before, but then again…

And in #10, which is still the top 10, lies an island of selfies: George Town. Yeah, you’ve read right: in a relatively small country like Malaysia, two of its cities reach the top 10 cities of selfies.

Malaysia boleh lah.

Here are the results for you to cry over:

1. Makati City and Pasig, Philippines – 258 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
2. Manhattan, New York – 202 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
3. Miami, Florida – 155 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
4. Anaheim and Santa Ana, California – 147 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
5. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia – 141 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
6. Tel Aviv, Israel – 139 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
7. Manchester, England – 114 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
8. Milan, Italy – 108 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
9. Cebu City, Philippines – 99 selfie-takers per 100,000 people
10. George Town, Malaysia – 95 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

Oh, in case you’re wondering, Singapore is rank #53, with 47 selfie-takers per 100,000 people. And just for fun: our neighbour across the causeway (Johor Babru) is ranked #50 with 48 selfie-takers per 100,000 people. They’ve won us in soccer. Now in selfies, too?

Let’s now all go north to take many selfies, just so to rank better than JB.