Valentine’s Day is fast approaching; and when it arrives on Tuesday, February 14, 2023, millions of people around the world will show their love in countless ways to their significant others — but what are the most loving cities and countries in the world; and where are they located?
The Most Loving Cities and Countries In The World: Where Are They Located?
To find out the answers to those questions, a sample of geotagged messages from Twitter from cities around the world were gathered. Each message from Twitter was then analyzed for patterns inside the text that denoted loving someone — for example, ‘love you,’ ‘<3 you,’ ‘love u’ — as well as 💓 and 💞 and most other variations of the heart emoji followed by ‘u’ and ‘you.’ The proportion of messages from Twitter containing a loving pattern per 100,000 messages from Twitter retrieved from a location overall were then calculated.
Duplicated messages from Twitter were excluded from the analysis. To ensure representability, a maximum of 20 messages from Twitter per account was set.
Only countries with greater than 20,000 messages from Twitter are included for the world map of countries.
For the map of the most loving city in each country, the data only includes cities with greater than 5,000 messages from Twitter; and countries with greater than two cities after the 5,000 messages from Twitter threshold was applied.
For the top 20 ranking of the most loving global cities, only cities with greater than 10,000 messages from Twitter and a minimum population of 1.5 million people are included.
For the top 20 ranking of the most loving cities in the United States, the data only considers the top 100 most populated cities in the United States and the most populated city in every state. Cities with fewer than 20,000 messages from Twitter were excluded.
This article from Crossword-Solver gives more details about where are the most loving cities and countries located worldwide; and I have been given express written permission to use the graphs and the verbatim text from the aforementioned article in this article. While Crossword-Solver has endeavored to ensure the information provided is accurate and current, it cannot guarantee it, as this information is general in nature only and does not constitute personal advice. Neither Crossword-Solver nor The Gate accept any liability — and assume no responsibility — for any and all information which is presented in this article.
With that disclaimer out of the way, here is the article.
Where Are The Most Loving Cities and Countries In The World Located?
Thousands of years ago, the Ancient Greeks decided to officially categorize all of the different types of love it was possible to feel, from the head-over-heels love you share with a romantic partner to the deep connection felt for life-long friends.
No matter who is the object of affection, there are all sorts of ways that people express their love, and the ways that we feel the most love vary just as much. For example, one poll found that over a third (38%) of U.S. adults prefer spending quality time with a romantic partner in order to feel loved.
Different cultures can also have their own unique ways of expressing love. In South Korea, you might see a love-struck couple wearing matching outfits to showcase their relationship to the world. Meanwhile, in Germany, it’s tradition to offer your beloved a pig trinket on Valentine’s Day.
But wherever you’re from, sometimes the easiest way of letting someone know you love them is by… well, telling them. And we’re all about words at Crossword Solver, so we wondered: based on how many times people say ‘love you’ online, which countries in the world are the most loving?
What We Did
We first collected a sample of geotagged tweets posted in countries and cities all over the world. We then analyzed that sample to find tweets that contained variations of the phrase ‘love you,’ for example, ‘love u’ and ‘<3 you,’ and variations of the heart emoji (e.g., 💓 and 💞) followed by ‘u’ and ‘you.’ We could then calculate the proportion of loving tweets per 100k overall to determine which location was more loving than others.
Key Findings
- The most loving country is Guatemala, counting 2,217 loving tweets per 100,000.
- Cochabamba, Bolivia, is the most loving city in the world (with 2,878 loving tweets per 100k).
- The most loving capital city in the world is Manila, Philippines (1,246 loving tweets per 100k).
- In the U.S., the most loving state is West Virginia (613 loving tweets per 100k), and El Paso, Texas, is the most loving city (521 loving tweets per 100k).
Guatemala Is the Most Loving Country in the World
Our research reveals that Guatemala is the most loving country in the world, counting more loving tweets (2,217) per 100k than any other country. Perhaps the most loving day of the year in the South American country is El Día del Cariño (the Day of Affection), which is similar to Valentine’s Day but celebrates all kinds of love, from the affection you feel for friends to a special bond with coworkers.
Some of the other most loving countries in the world, like Guatemala, are Latin American countries: these include Honduras (2,195 loving tweets per 100k), Bolivia (1,922) and Panama (1,418). According to one study, Latino/Hispanic culture deeply values relationships. South Korea (1,509), where the 14th day of every month is dedicated to celebrating love, is also one of the most loving countries online.
Cochabamba, Bolivia, Tops the List of the Most Loving Cities Worldwide
According to our data, Cochabamba in Bolivia is the most loving city in the world, with 2,878 loving tweets per 100k. It makes sense that a Bolivian city expresses a lot of love online: a Gallup poll once found Bolivia to be the world’s most emotional country, and AFS-USA, Inc. claims the country’s citizens are generally “open, friendly, welcoming and affectionate.”
A popular stereotype of city-dwellers is that they’re not as friendly as folks in smaller towns, but several studies tell a different story. For instance, one British experiment found that city folk are just as likely to help a stranger as much as their rural counterparts, and the Pew Research Center revealed that urbanites talk to their neighbors just as much too.
Manila, Philippines, Is the Most Loving Capital City in the World
Our research reveals that Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is the most loving capital city in the world: for every 100k tweets posted there, 1,246 contained a variation of the phrase ‘love you.’ Love is very much in the air in the Philippines: a poll once revealed that 93% of people in the country reported feeling love on a typical day — the highest proportion of any country in the world.
Love is at the core of most families, and immediate and extended family are considered very important in Filipino culture. Younger generations are also known to wear their heart on their sleeve online: the concept of hugot (a Filipino word meaning to express deep emotion) is spread among friends, family and romantic partners through poignant quotes, music and videos.
West Virginia Is the Most Loving U.S. State
We discovered that West Virginia is the most loving U.S. state, counting 613 ‘love you’ tweets for every 100,000 tweets posted locally. When it comes to long-lasting love, the Mountain State knows a thing or two: one study revealed that marriages in West Virginia (tied with Maine) last longer than anywhere else in the country, at a median length of over 22 years.
The next most loving states, when measured by the proportion of loving tweets posted locally, are Arkansas (612 loving tweets per 100k), Utah (583) and Montana (577), states that also happen to have some of the highest rates of marriage in the country. And as it turns out, Virginia, disproving its famous slogan “Virginia is for lovers,” doesn’t express love online as much: we found only 345 loving tweets there per 100k.
The Most Loving City in the U.S. Is El Paso, Texas
When it comes to U.S. cities, no other city is more loving than El Paso, Texas, where we found 521 loving tweets per 100k overall. Located on the Mexico-United States border, El Paso has a rich Mexican culture in which family plays an important role.
Another type of love that someone might feel is for their neighbors and their community, and El Paso’s citizens have it in spades. Since 1969, El Paso has been awarded the All-America City Award five times, given annually in recognition of outstanding community work.
Also appearing in our ranking is America’s ninth friendliest city Nashville, Tennessee (377 loving tweets per 100k), and Las Vegas, Nevada (368), where getting married is a popular activity.
The Most Loving Locations in the World, According to Twitter
How much do people express love where you live? Explore our interactive table below to find out how loving each location is online, based on the number of tweets per 100k posted locally that includes the phrase ‘love you.’
The internet has made many things in life a lot easier, including sending our loved ones a quick message to let them know how much we love them. That being said, while some people might enjoy tweeting it from the rooftops, other people find it hard to say those magical little words to someone they love.
However, it’s important to let your loved ones know you love them. According to psychologist Lisa Arango, whether it’s a romantic partner, a family member or a friend, telling someone you love them is a good way to “feed” the relationship and keep it strong. So no matter where you are in the world, why not tell someone you love them today?
Final Boarding Call
Notably — and sorely — missing from this article is Akureyri in northern Iceland, which deserved to be included if only because the red light on the traffic lights throughout the town is in the shape of a heart rather than a circle. I thought I had taken a photograph of one of those traffic lights when I was in Akureyri — I stayed overnight there — but I have not found it.
Akureyri is not all that far from the town of Húsavík, where I was treated to the rare sighting of a blue whale.
Now that’s love. Happy Valentine’s Day to you.
Roxas Boulevard in Manila, which is purportedly the most loving major capital city in the world. Photograph ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
