UNESCO World Heritage Sites

UNESCO is the United Nations' educational, scientific and cultural organisation. UNESCO was formed in November 1945, in London, England, with a founding membership of thirty seven countries. The aim of UNESCO, by way of it's World Heritage Programme, is to award prizes to the world's most outstanding cultural or natural sites, as they consider them of interest to the international community and wish to preserve them. The organisation's first heritage list contained twelve sites and was compiled in 1978.

UNESCO's head office is situated in Paris, France and the organisation has another fifty six field offices situated across the world. As of 2011, the organisation consists of one hundred and ninety five member states and eight associate members, who are represented by twenty two state parties, which award prizes in twenty two different categories every year.

There are currently one thousand and seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in one hundred and sixty one countries around the world, seven hundred and eighty of which are cultural venues, one hundred and ninety seven are natural sites and thirty are mixed sites.

Nominated sites must be of outstanding universal interest and meet the criteria of at least one of the organisation's ten selection criteria, which are divided into six categories for cultural sites and four categories for natural sites. Each nominated site is evaluated by the International Council of Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union.

The organisation divides the world into five geographical zones, although some sites are listed as belonging to one geographical zone, when in fact they are actually situated in another part of the world. This is because the country which nominates the site is awarded the prize, rather than the location it is in, such as the U.K is awarded the Gough Island and Henderson Island sites, although both islands are actually located in the south Atlantic.

Over the years the organisation has chosen a myriad of areas of outstanding natural beauty, ancient monuments, architectural masterpieces, national parks, coastlines, eco-systems, prehistoric rocks, archaelogical sites and even the country of the Vatican City State, as well as some unusual sites such as the Budapest Metro system in Hungary, the hydraulic boat lifts on Belgium's Canal du Centre at Louvire, Canada's Rideau Canal in Ottawa, several railway networks and two ancient road networks.

The country with the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites is Italy with fifty.

Below is a list of the organisations five zones, with number of sites, a list of the very first UNESCO World Heritage list compiled in 1978, followed by a list of the countries with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

UNESCO GEOGRAPHICAL ZONES.

Africa - 89 sites.

Arab States - 77 sites.

Asia / Pacific - 231 sites

Latin America / Caribbean - 131 sites.

North America / Europe - 479.

THE WORLD'S FIRST UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

DESIGNATED IN 1978

Galapagos Islands - Ecuador.

Historical Centre of Quito, Ecuador.

Aachen Cathedral, Germany.

L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada.

Simien National Park, Ethiopia.

Rock hewn churches, Lalibela, Ethiopia.

Hahanni National Park, Canada.

Isle of Goree, Senegal.

Mesa Verde National Park, U.S.A

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, U.S.A

Historical Centre of Krakov, Poland.

Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland.

COUNTRIES WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES.

Italy - 50 sites.

China - 47 sites.

Spain - 44 sites.

France - 39 sites - (This number includes two overseas territories)

Germany - 39 sites.

India - 32 sites.

Mexico - 32 sites.

United Kingdom - 28 sites - (This number includes three overseas territories)

Russian Federation - 26 sites.

United States of America - 22 sites.

Don't Forget To Check Out Our Page - Island national parks around the world

For a complete list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites visit the organisation's website - whc.unesco.org

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