Shock results: New Zealand bombs in 'World's most Instagrammable countries for 2019'

Tourists are willing to line up to take photos at Roy's Peak in Wanaka. Photo / Reddit, Aurify

New Zealand is home to so many photogenic natural spots, including some that tourists are willing to line up for – see Roy's Peak in Wanaka – in order to get that perfect snap for social media.

However, when it comes to the world's most Instagrammable destinations, it turns out we might not be as popular as you'd think.

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What else is a MoBro gunna do at Roy's Peak? ⛰ The 2am wake up was well worth it as we watched the sun cast its shadow over this incredible ridge line. No word of a lie, this is probably one of the best views I've ever seen. A little tip: if you're going to do the sunrise mish make sure to dress warm. Gloves and a beanie are a must; it was freezing cold as we waited for the sun to rise! The hike is 16km return and all uphill incline so make sure your quads are ready for a pounding too 😁 📸 @suggiesspace #motionbros

A post shared by Motion Bros (@motionbrosnz) on Jan 12, 2019 at 8:25pm PST

Travel site Big 7 Travel recently released a list of the 50 most Instagrammable countries in the world – and in a shocking turn of events, Aotearoa is near the bottom of the list.

But what hurts even more is that the country that took out the top spot is none other than our trans-Tasman rival.

Yes, you read that right – Australia is the most Instagrammable country in the world, while New Zealand languishes five spots from the end at number 45.

Apparently Australia "scored top marks for its popular hashtag and geolocations on social media", with Big 7 Travel lauding its "photogenic beaches and slick coffee spots".

Sadly, New Zealand ranked so low it didn't even get a write-up.

How could this be? The list was generated using a "comprehensive scoring system" that anaylsed the number of hashtags per destination, along with survey results of Big 7 readers and votes cast by a panel of supposed "travel experts".

Perhaps this "research" might not be all that scientific – or at least that's what we're telling ourselves.

Australia is apparently the world's most Instagrammable country. What's the big deal? Photo / Getty Images

For a start, there's no way to tell if the hashtags counted were posted by tourists or by locals – and with Australia reporting a 2018 population of 24.77 million to our 4.7 million, they've definitely got the numbers over us.

If we're looking to make the list in the future, we might need to start posting a few more hashtags ourselves.

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Hazy af- that’s not dreamy fog, it’s actually pollution 😷. Lately I’ve been talking about not posting ‘perfect photos’ (that’s just insecurity speaking) and will focus on creating images even if they don’t turn out as I imagined them initially. #samishomekong

A post shared by Sam is Home | Hong Kong (@samishome) on Jan 13, 2019 at 6:08am PST

Hurt feelings aside, the top five was rounded out with Hong Kong in second, Canada in third, Indonesia in fourth and South Africa in fifth.

TOP 10 MOST INSTAGRAMMABLE COUNTRIES 2019

Based on a scoring system that analysed the number of hashtags, reader surveys and votes cast by a panel of travel experts, the Big 7 has ranked the 'Most Instagrammable places 2019'

1. #Australia - 49,747,684 posts
2. #HongKong - 29,155,472 posts
3. #Canada - 44,404,371 posts
4. #Indonesia -79,961,799 posts
5. #SouthAfrica - 13,168,184 posts
6. #Maldives - 6,155,898 posts
7. #India - 42,236,058 posts
8. #USA - 77,118,756 posts
9. #Dubai (UAE) - 76,523,125 posts
10. #Singapore - 30,384,670 posts

See the full list here.