You can probably name the United States’ national animal: the bald eagle. But did you know the U.S. has another national mammal, the bison? About 35% of countries worldwide have multiple national animals representing them. These animals range from general national animals to more descriptive categories like national birds, national aquatic animals, and even a national horse or two. Some countries even share the same national or heraldic animal as other countries. There is one animal 17 different countries list as their national symbol. Plus, more countries than you might think are represented by mythical creatures. The world’s national animals include more dragons, double-tailed lions, phoenixes, and unicorns than appear in Harry Potter and throughout all eight seasons of Game of Thrones combined. Read on to discover more about the national animals of every country.

View National Animals of Every Country in a full screen map

The map contains 158 national animals. Sort them by the categories our data source noted, which includes national insects, reptiles, heraldic symbols, and more.

Categories & Common Animals

The national animals can be grouped into ten categories. The most frequent category is simply “national animal,” of which there are 87 on the map. Typically, each country has just one official national animal that is the ultimate representation of the country. Some places may also have a national bird. In fact, 33 countries list national birds. Plus, there are 16 national heraldry animals. Heraldic national animals are drawings of animals that may have appeared on a shield throughout the country’s history. There are also ten national aquatic animals and five national insects, along with national dogs, heritage animals, horses, predators, and reptiles.

You can sort the map above by these ten national animal categories, just as you can do with any map made with BatchGeo. It’s called map grouping, which allows you to use groups to break down your data and see trends on a map.

Countries with Common Animals

Seventeen countries have the same national animal: the lion. However, there are some differences between the lions that represent these countries. Five countries list the lion as a heraldic national animal. Belgium’s is the mythical Belgic lion, while the double-tailed lion, another mythological creature, represents the Czech Republic. In addition to Belgium and the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, and Norway also have heraldic lion national animals.

Iran’s national lion is more specific: the Persian lion. Compared to the typical African lion, the Persian lion is smaller and less hairy. However, aside from the five countries with heraldic national lions and Iran, the following 11 countries have the exact same African lion as their national animal:

• England
• Ethiopia
• The Gambia
• Kenya
• Libya
• Luxembourg
• Morocco
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka
• Togo

You’ll note that seven out of the 11 countries are in Africa. This makes sense seeing as it is the African lion that represents them all. Then we have the second most common national animal: the Arabian oryx. This little antelope is the national animal of Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Countries with Multiple National Animals

Pakistan, Finland, India, and Mexico each have more than four national animals. Pakistan has six distinct animals. The country is ultimately represented by their main national animal: the Markhor. However, Pakistan also lists a national aquatic animal, the Indus river dolphin, a national bird, the Chukar, and a national reptile, the Indus crocodile. They also have a national heritage bird: the Shaheen falcon, which we categorized as a national bird on the map. Plus, Pakistan is the only country with a national predator: the Snow leopard.

Finland, India, and Mexico have five different national animal symbols. Finland’s national animal is the Brown bear. The country also has a national bird, the Whooper swan, and a national aquatic animal, the European perch. Plus, they have a national insect, the Seven-spot ladybird, and a national butterfly, the Holly blue, that we paired with the other insects on the map.

India is much the same as Finland, with the addition of a national reptile, the King cobra and a national heritage animal, the Indian elephant. India’s #1 national animal is the Royal Bengal tiger. Mexico also has a similar makeup as the other two countries with five national animal symbols. However, Mexico also has a national dog, the Xoloitzcuintli, and a national mammal, the Jaguar, which for mapping purposes, we paired with other national animals. Mexico’s main national animal is the Golden eagle, which also appears on the national flag.

Overall, 35 out of the 102 countries represented on the map have more than one national animal. Breaking it down, 23 countries have two national animal symbols. Eight countries have three national animals, three places have five, while only Pakistan boasts six national animals.

Dragons & Phoenixes & Unicorns, Oh My: the Mythical Creatures

We found it fascinating that the following 15 countries have mythical national animals:

• Austria — Austrian Bundesadler “Federal Eagle”
• Belgium — Leo Belgicus “Belgic lion”
• Bhutan — Druk
• China — Chinese dragon
• Czech Republic — Double-tailed lion
• Germany — Bundesadler “Federal Eagle”
• Greece — Phoenix
• Hungary — Turul
• Indonesia — Garuda
• North Korea — Chollima
• Portugal — Cock of Barcelos
• Russia — Double-headed eagle
• Scotland — Unicorn
• Serbia — White eagle
• Wales — Y Ddraig Goch (Welsh Dragon)

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Now that you know the national animals of every country, it’s time to expand your knowledge even further. Check out our map of the state birds, capitals, and flowers of each of the 50 United States. It will even show you how to make your own flashcard maps to help you visualize your data. With BatchGeo, the visual learning options are endless.

Twin towns or sister cities are part of a diplomacy effort to develop relationships between cities in the United States and international countries. Sister cities hope to promote cooperation, cultural understanding, and economic benefits to each of the participating places. In the U.S., there are over 700 cities dedicated to bridging the cultural gap of their international counterparts. In fact, several U.S. cities maintain relationships with over 20 international cities. Some of these pairings are more interesting than others. For example, one international travel destination known for its tall, twinkling tower is officially committed to just one other international city. However, many cities in the U.S. claim they’re paired with the Ville Lumière. When it comes to international relations, more issues may arise, like the time a Japanese city severed ties with a city in California after over 60 years together. Thankfully, that burned bridge didn’t impact the relationships between other Japanese and American cities because there are over 200 sister city relationships between the two. Is Japan the country the U.S. pairs with the most? Find out the answer to that question and more as you read about the twin towns and sister cities of the U.S.

View Twin Towns and Sister Cities in a full screen map

The map above contains hoards of information about the almost 2,000 international sister cities of over 700 U.S. cities. Find out where in the world your city has ties by taking advantage of the search bar in the upper right-hand corner of the map.

Tons of Twins & a Surplus of Sisters

The idea of twin towns and sister cities came about near the end of World War II to foster friendship and understanding among different cultures and former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation, and to encourage trade and tourism. Now, not every city in the U.S. partakes in this cultural exchange, nor does every state. Arizona and Hawaii, for example, have more in common than eschewing Daylight Savings Time. According to Wikipedia, they also don’t have any sister cities. The same goes for Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, at least, according to where we got our data. Don’t fret though. There are still nearly 2,000 international sister cities that pair with more than 700 U.S. cities on the map. Obviously, many U.S. cities must have more than one sister city to get numbers that high.

The following seven places each have over 20 international partners, making them the U.S. cities with the most international ties:

• Laredo, Texas
• Chicago, Illinois
• Miami-Dade County, Florida
• Los Angeles, California
• Miami, Florida
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Seattle, Washington

Laredo, Texas cultivates relationships with 41 international cities, most of which are located in the same country. Thirty of Laredo’s sister cities are located in Mexico, which makes sense as Laredo is right on the Mexico–U.S. border. Chicago is the second of the largest and most active sister city organizations in the U.S pairing with 28 cities. However, some of these cities are mere “friendship cities,” not sister cities. The most notable of Chicago’s pairs is Paris, France, a city we’ll touch more on later. Miami-Dade County, Los Angeles, Miami, Cleveland, and Seattle, each have multiple sister cities. Miami-Dad and Miami pair with 27 and 24 cities, respectively. The City of Angels partners with 25 cities, Cleveland maintains 22 relationships, and Seattle does the same with 21 cities around the world. It’s worth noting that while San Francisco does not have over 20 sister cities like the above, it still has an impressive number: 19. Like Chicago, San Francisco has a friendship pact with Paris.

Riveting Relationships

We pointed out that two of the U.S. cities with the most partnerships, Chicago and San Francisco, include Paris, France, on their list of sister cities. But tell that to France. Paris dubs its relationship with other cities as merely “friendship pacts.” Since 1956, Paris has only ever officially been partnered with Rome, which gave way to the phrase “only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris.” Paris keeps friendship pacts with plenty of cities but will only ever officially belong to Rome.

One year after Paris and Rome made their relationship exclusive, San Francisco developed a partnership with Osaka, Japan. But in 2018, the Mayor of Osaka severed ties with San Fran after a controversy over a statue. The statue in question commemorates the thousands of women who were raped by Japanese soldiers during World War II, and the Mayor of Osaka, Japan, was clearly not pleased.

On a lighter note, did you know there’s a city of Dublin in the U.S.? It’s located in California, and its sister city is Dublin, Ireland. Similarly, Orange, California, is sister cities with all things orange — Orange, France, and Orange, Australia. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find evidence of a city named Naranja in any Spanish-speaking country, otherwise, we’re sure Orange, CA would extend an invitation to join the group.

We’ve saved the best riveting sister city relationship for last. The city of Boring, Oregon has but one sister city: Dull, Scotland. If you ever face that question on Jeopardy, you’ll be prepared.

Most Paired Countries

More than anywhere else in the world, cities in the U.S. partner with international cities in Japan the most. Whether it’s because of a close allyship or trade, cities in the U.S. have over 200 distinct relationships with Japan. The second country cities in the U.S. have ties to the most is Mexico. U.S. cities have more than 120 sister city connections to cities in Mexico. Then comes China. Cities in the U.S. pair together with the country over 100 different times.

On the other hand, we have U.S. cities that didn’t stray too far from home when it came time to find a sister city. For example, Anaheim, California is sister cities with another city in the U.S. — Orlando, Florida. Anaheim and Orlando aren’t the only ones, there are thirteen total U.S.-U.S. pairs.

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Have you ever visited one of your city’s sister cities? If so, you can make a map of where you’ve visited to easily remember your traveling memories. If you have fewer travel experiences than you’d like, you can use BatchGeo to make a map of where you want to go. Your map can motivate you to get out and see the world — consider it your own digital adventure book! If you’d rather read about the voyages of others, you can check out our map of all the international travels of U.S. presidents.

Wimbledon is one of the most prestigious tennis competitions in the world. And where there’s a competition, there are winners. In the case of Wimbledon singles champions, over 100 different gentleman and lady tennis players have won since the formation in 1877. Eleven of these winners may as well have a second home in London, England where the tournament takes place, seeing as they have won Wimbledon six or more times. In total, the incredible Wimbledon singles-winning athletes hail from 16 different countries around the world, some of which make more of a racket at Wimbledon singles tournaments than others. Find out who the ten greatest Wimbledon singles winners are and where they come from, along with the three countries that have taken home Wimbledon gold more often than the rest when you keep reading about where Wimbledon winners are from.

View Where Wimbledon Winners Are From in a full screen map

The map above notes every Wimbledon singles winner since 1877 for the gentlemen and 1884 for the ladies. We got our data here and here. However, you may notice a few years missing. This coincides with World Wars I and II, during which Wimbledon was not held.

The Ten-ish Tennis Players With the Most Wimbledon Wins

Every tennis player who competes at Wimbledon is noteworthy, as is each Wimbledon singles winner. But there are some tennis champions with multiple wins under their belt. The following tennis players have won more Wimbledon singles tournaments than any other competitor:

1. Martina Navratilova, 9 wins
2. Roger Federer, 8 wins
3. Helen Wills Moody, 8 wins
4. Pete Sampras, 7 wins
5. William Renshaw, 7 wins
6. Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, 7 wins
7. Serena Williams, 7 wins
8. Steffi Graf, 7 wins
9. Billie Jean King, 6 wins
10. Blanche Bingley Hillyard, 6 wins
11. Suzanne Lenglen, 6 wins

Martina Navratilova holds the #1 spot for most Wimbledon wins regardless of gender or era. Navratilova first won the courts of Wimbledon in 1978 and last won in 1990. Yet, no one since has won as many Wimbledons. Serena Williams may still have a chance to claim that #1 spot, though. Williams, Pete Sampras, Steffi Graf, William Renshaw, and Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers are tied for #3 with the most Wimbledon wins. But while Sampras hasn’t won since 2000, and Renshaw and Chambers are both long past their prime — Renshaw last won in 1889 while Chambers’ last win was just before World War I — Serena Williams won recently in 2016. She may still surpass Martina Navratilova for the #1 ranking amongst Wimbledon singles winners. And, while not in the top ten, Serena’s talented sister Venus Williams is tied for the #5 most Wimbledon wins with five of her own.

More than sorting these impressive athletes by the number of Wimbledon singles wins and their rankings, we can note the countries the champions represented at Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova, Helen Wills Moody, Pete Sampras, Serena Williams, and Billie Jean King all competed on behalf of the U.S. while William Renshaw, Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, and Blanche Bingley Hillyard were all British Wimbledon singles champions. Roger Federer hailed from Switzerland, Steffi Graf played for Germany, and Suzanne Lenglen for France. However, just because these tennis champions brought the most Wimbledon wins than any other player, their country isn’t guaranteed a spot with the most Wimbledon-winning countries in history. Well, except in a few cases.

Countries Making a Racquet at Wimbledon

The United States

Tennis players from the U.S. have won Wimbledon 89 times. Though the U.S. was established well before the first Wimbledon singles competition in 1877, America didn’t bring home a Wimbledon prize until May Sutton won the Ladies’ Singles in 1905. After Sutton’s second win in 1907, the U.S. went through a dry spell. Their next Wimbledon win didn’t come until Bill Tilden won the Gentlemen’s Singles in 1920. From that point on, the U.S. had a Wimbledon winner at least five times every decade. This included Helen Wills Moody, who won Wimbledon consecutively between 1927-1930, and then again in 1932, 1933, 1935, and 1938.

Transitioning from the Amateur Era to the Open Era of Wimbledon for America was Billie Jean King. King first won Wimbledon in 1966, again in 1967, and again once the Open Era started in ‘68. In total, King won two Amateur prizes and four Open Era ones between 1966 and 1975. After King came Martina Navratilova, who we know holds the coveted #1 spot for most Wimbledon wins ever. Navratilova first won in 1978, and again in ‘79. Despite some years where she didn’t win, Navratilova was in it for the long haul. She ended up victorious again in ‘82, and from then on, she was unstoppable, winning consecutively from 1982-1987, and in 1990 for her last victory.

More recent U.S. winners include Pete Sampras, who won from 1993-1995, and again between 1997-2000. Sampras’s win in 2000 was the last for U.S. Gentlemen’s Singles. However, American ladies are doing alright in the 21st century thanks to the Williams sisters. Although it hasn’t just been this century that women in tennis were succeeding. In total, 57 of all the U.S.’s Wimbledon wins were earned by the ladies while 32 were from gentlemen players, however, the Peruvian-born Alex Olmedo may count for another U.S. win. In this century, Venus was the first of the William sisters to win Wimbledon, doing so in 2000. She won again in 2001, but then her sister, Serena showed up on the scene, determined to dominate. For a while, it appeared Venus and Serena Williams would take turns winning Wimbledon; but since 2009, Serena has been the only Williams sister to earn the title. The score is currently Venus: 5; Serena: 7, and thanks to Serena, the U.S. earned its most recent win in 2016.

Australia

Australians are also quite good at tennis. Twenty-six Wimbledon winners have hailed from the land Down Under. Australia’s first winner was in 1907, just six years after the country was formed. This first W was thanks to Norman Brookes. After Brookes, Margaret Smith Court was the first Aussie woman to win Wimbledon in 1963. Interestingly, just nine of Australia’s 26 Wimbledon wins come from the Open Era, when professionals were allowed to compete. The other 17 wins took place during the Amateur Era. But Rod Laver won first place during both eras. He earned two Wimbledon for Australia during the Amateur Era, and then went on to win twice more during the Open Era. Eras aside, 21 of Australia’s wins were earned by the gentlemen and five wins were from the ladies. As for the country’s most recent win, it was back in 2002.

The United Kingdom

If the U.S. and Australia didn’t win their first Wimbledon until the 20th century, which country was coming in first place between Wimbledon’s creation in 1877 and then? In the early years of Wimbledon, the U.K. was the only major winner. They have won Wimbledon 73 times in total, 37 of which are thanks to the gentlemen and 36 are from the ladies. The U.K.’s racquet-welding ladies and gents won Wimbledon 50 times consecutively from its conception in 1877 until America’s May Sutton broke the winning streak of ladies after 21 years and Aussie Norman Brookes broke the 30-year gentlemen’s winning streak in 1907. It’s crazy to think that nearly 70% of the U.K.’s Wimbledon wins come from before 1908.

Notable during the U.K.’s golden age of tennis is William Renshaw, who as we’ve mentioned is tied for the #3 most wins in history (7), his last being in 1889. A historical version of Serena and Venus Williams, William Renshaw’s brother, Ernest, was the one who ultimately ruined William’s winning streak in 1888. For the U.K., the early days of Wimbledon were ripe with even more sibling rivalries. Nine of the U.K.’s Wimbledon wins come from brothers Laurence and Reginald Doherty. However, the gentlemen of the U.K. faced a couple of dry spells. Between 1910 and 1933, the U.K. did not win once for Gentlemen’s Singles. The same can be said between 1937 until 2013 when Andy Murray came to win and ending the long losing streak.

As for the U.K.’s ladies, Blanche Bingley Hillyard, Charlotte Cooper Sterry, and Lottie Dod ruled the tennis game from 1886 to 1901. Hillyard won six Wimbledons, and Sterry and Dod each won five for their country. Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers then won seven Wimbledons between 1903 and 1914. However, while the ladies of the U.K. dominated in the early days of Wimbledon, they have yet to win another competition since 1977. The gentlemen, on the other hand, won in 2016.

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Now that you know where the Wimbledon winners come from, keep an eye out in June and July to see if Serena Williams scores another Wimbledon win and eventually comes for Martina Navratilova’s #1 spot. Either way, it’s a win for the U.S. Another sporting event that takes place over the summer is the Tour de France. You can learn more about the winners, as well as the 2,200-mile route they take each year.