Swimwear brand Pour Moi has created a global guide to where in the world you can sunbathe topless or naked, without getting into trouble.
Despite travel restrictions last year, there were over 10.7 million Google searches made globally in the last 12 months for ‘nude beaches’, ‘nude resorts’ and ‘sunbathe nude’. The majority of those searches were made by the USA, Japan and Brazil.
However, when population size is accounted for, the people who want to sunbathe naked the most are from Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
Sunbathing topless, or partially naked, is received very differently around the world, with religious and cultural histories making a big impact on how acceptable or offensive it is deemed.
Even within a single country, like the USA for example, different regions have very different stances and laws on naturist activity.
Public nudity laws can become confused with the rules surrounding naked sunbathing, with many countries saying public nudity is illegal, but they are actually OK with topless sunbathing.
For most nations, the ‘intention to offend’ is the main thing that differentiates trying to catch some vitamin D without tan lines, versus someone streaking or flashing.
The team at Pour Moi spent weeks researching the individual laws of each country around the world and cross-referencing them with travel forums, blogs and social media posts to determine which countries you can actually sunbathe naked in without any trouble.
The findings were visualised onto a map of the world to help those who want to sunbathe without getting tan lines, plan their international trips to the beach.
Founder of Pour Moi Michael Thomson says “We know a lot of our customers like to ditch their swimsuit when they sunbathe, and with tentative steps being made towards international travel opening up, we wanted to help people find out where you can and can’t go topless when you sunbathe.
We’re a UK company and Brits are stereotyped as being quite a prude, but it’s not true, a lot of us love to embrace more naturist ways in the sunshine! It’s been fun comparing which countries are most interested in sunbathing naked, versus what the actual nudity laws are in that country.”
The worldwide map categorises countries into four colours. The 38 countries in red are ones where public nudity of any kind, even non-offensive public topless sunbathing, is completely unacceptable or illegal.
Countries coloured green (39) are those which are pretty relaxed about public topless or nude sunbathing, allowing it in multiple official and unofficial locations.
The 29 countries marked in amber indicate laws that are ambiguous or contradictory, or where there are very limited places to naked sunbathe – these places will require a bit more research before taking off your swimsuit.
For example, in Tunisia (amber) topless sunbathing is deemed OK in some private hotels and resorts but is generally unacceptable on public beaches. Or, in Costa Rica (amber), whilst public nudity is technically illegal, there are unofficial naturist resorts and beaches.
See the full research on the Pour Moi website for a full summary of the rules for each individual country.
Grey countries indicate where not enough information was available to make a categorisation.
Countries That Want to Sunbathe Nude the Most (Per Person)
Looking at Google search data, and cross-referencing it with each country’s population size, the ten nations that are the biggest fans of sunbathing naked are:
- Australia – Code Green: Topless sunbathing is legal, with plenty of official nudist beaches.
- New Zealand – Code Amber: Whilst not illegal you must do it in a designated area.
- Ireland – Code Red: Illegal to sunbathe topless and no official nude beaches.
- USA – Code Amber: In 32 states you shouldn’t have any legal worries about nude sunbathing however, it isn’t allowed in Utah, Indiana or Tennessee.
- Canada – Code Green: Their nudity law is rarely enforced as it relies on context, with topless sunbathing being deemed a case that doesn’t have the intent to offend.
- Netherlands – Code Green: Topless sunbathing is common and allowed in designated areas.
- UK – Code Green: Topless sunbathing is completely legal and nudist beaches exist.
- Japan – Code Green: Although there aren’t many nudist beaches, onsens (hot water springs) are usually attended in the nude.
- Spain – Code Green: Legal to sunbathe naked or topless and it’s a fairly common sight.
- Hungary – Code Green: Nude beaches are quite common and not illegal to sunbathe naked.