A deep dive into social media by UK company Uswitch has found Oia in Greece tops the website's list of the world's most beautiful villages.
Researchers looked into how many times particular locations had been shared on Instagram and Pintrest, the two most picture-based social media platforms.
Wanaka in Otago is the only New Zealand location to make the list.
Located in Santorini, Oia is widely known for its picturesque, bright white buildings and deep blue surrounding sea. The popular location earned 1,612,671 appearances across Instagram and Pinterest - over 80 percent more than Furnas in the Azores which was tenth on the list.
In second place is Vietnam's Halong Bay. Popular for scuba diving, hiking, and rock climbing, the area has 1,168,018 posts on the social media platforms.
Ranking third is Göreme, Turkey. With 1,129,300 appearances on social media, Geröme is home to many rock-chiseled churches and is famous for regular hot air balloon rides.
Uswitch said it used locations that met National Geographic's definition of a village, having between 500 and 2500 inhabitants, for its research.
The world's most beautiful villages in 2022:
- Oia - 1,612,671 Greece
- Halong Bay - 1,168,018 Vietnam
- Göreme - 1,129,300 Turkey
- Hallstatt - 799,213 Austria
- Mission Beach - 608,796 Australia
- Wanaka - 566,714 New Zealand
- Vernazza - 493,134 Italy
- Shirakawa-Go - 256,681 Japan
- Tobermory - 242,210 Isle of Mull
- Furnas - 227,708 The Azores
