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Spain ranks top for solo travellers and thrill-seekers

The Local Spain
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Spain ranks top for solo travellers and thrill-seekers
A tourist looks at the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) in Ronda. Photo: Jorge Guerrero / AFP.

Spain ranks highly for being 'fun' and 'friendly' and is the perfect place for those who love to travel solo.

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Spain was rated the best country worldwide to travel alone, according to the rankings released by US News & World Report on Wednesday.

"There’s no need for a partner during a late night stroll by the Alhambra. Flamenco can be watched at a table of one. And tapas taste just the same alone as in a crowd," the rankings report states. "When it comes to being a solo tourist, many people think Spain is as good as it gets."

The rankings were based on a survey of 16,000 people worldwide who were asked to associate each country with certain attributes. The responses were then broken down into various categories, including adventure, power, entrepreneurship and quality of life.

Germany was ranked the best country overall, followed by Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Sweden. Spain fell to 16th place overall.

Still, Spain took second place for its cultural and historical heritage behind just Italy, and second place for the best country to study abroad, also right behind Italy.

European exchange students have long favoured Spain as their destination of choice for study abroad.

READ: Nine awesome reasons why to spend your Erasmus year in Spain

Spain made third place for adventure by scoring highly for being fun (a 9.5 out of 10), friendly (9.4) and having a "pleasant climate" - a perfect 10.

"People like adventure in their lives," according to the rankings report. "Research shows that a chance to break away from the normal rhythms of daily life reduces stress and improves health and well-being."

READ: Ten adrenaline-fuelled adventures for thrill-seekers in Spain

It didn't score as well in the sexiness category - 4.1 out of 10.

Brazil came in first place for adventure, followed by Italy. 

Spain's cultural influence was also rated highly, making it into fourth place for the category, which included such aspects as fashion, entertainment, trendiness and happiness.

"Cultural achievements, from the artistic mastery of Velazquez, Goya and Picasso to the globally renowned novel 'Don Quixote' by Cervantes, and traditions like flamenco music and dance are a source of unity and national pride," the report states.

Spain scored the worst for being considered a "mover" in the global market, meaning a metric used by the researchers to predict future GDP growth did not bode as well for the country. Spain placed below Iran and Jordan for being an up-and-coming economy, according to this category.

Spain also ranked poorly for starting a career and opening a business, due to perceptions about corruption and bureaucracy.

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