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Johannesburg – The 2019 Miss Universe and Miss World pageants are inching nearer as the year draws to a close, which means that two countries will be adding another crown to their collection. Or perhaps one country will take both titles, who knows, it's happened before.
As with previous years, South Africa will take part in both of these massive competitions, represented by Zozibini Tunzi at Miss Universe and Sasha-Lee Olivier at Miss World.
Many fans have predicted that SA will take tops spots in both pageants, and for good reason – our local ladies have fared quite well on these international platforms, putting them right up there with the best.
Take a look at South Africa's toughest competitors. These are the top pageant countries in the world based on the number of wins at Miss Universe and Miss World so far.
The Miss Universe Pageant
The Miss Universe Pageant was established in 1952. The first country to claim the crown was Finland.
Here are the top 5 countries with the most Miss Universe wins:
1. United Stated – 8 wins
2. Venezuela – 7 wins
3. Puerto Rico – 5 wins
4. Philippines – 4 wins
5. Sweden – 3 wins
South Africa has taken the Miss Universe crown twice – first in 1978 with Margaret Gardiner, and later with Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters in 2017.
Should SA claim the title again in 2019, the country would be in joint 5th position with Sweden who has won three times.
The Miss World Pageant
The first Miss World pageant took place in 1951 in London. The winner of the competition was Kiki Hakanssan of Sweden.
Here are the top 4 countries with the most Miss World wins:
1. India and Venezuela – 6 wins each
2. United Kingdom – 5 wins
3. South Africa, United States, Iceland, Jamaica and Sweden – 3 wins each
4. Fifth place is shared by a number of countries who have taken the title twice, including Australia, China and Puerto Rico.
Should Sasha-Lee Olivier win the Miss World crown in 2019, SA will move up one spot on the world ranking, taking sole ownership of third place.
Leading the pack
When combining Miss Universe and Miss World title winners, Venezuela comes out on top. The country has taken 6 Miss World crowns, and won the Miss Universe title 7 times - that's a combined number of 13 wins between the two pageants.
The 69th edition of the Miss World pageant will take place on 14 December in London.
Date and venue for the 2019 Miss Universe pageant has not been announced (at time of publishing).
