* The Miss Universe competition was launched in 1952 to celebrate and empower women.
* The US has the highest number of competition wins
* India, Sweden, South Africa, and Mexico tied for the fifth-highest number of Miss Universe winners.
The Miss Universe competition looks to empower and celebrate women of all backgrounds.
Since 1952, the Miss Universe competition has been a global event, providing a platform for women around the world to “realize their goals through experiences that build self-confidence and create opportunities for success.”
First televised in 1955, the annual pageant airs worldwide and raked in about 5.21 million viewers in the US alone in 2017.
All of the competitors, of course, vie for the crown — but certain countries have produced more winners than others throughout the history of the competition.
We rounded up every Miss Universe and, using the Miss Universe Organization’s archive, figured out which countries have the most titleholders.
The United States has had nine Miss Universe winners after R’Bonney Gabriel won the most recent competition.
Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel celebrates after winning the 71st Miss Universe competition on January 14, 2023.
1954: Miriam Stevenson
1956: Carol Morris
1960: Linda Bement
1967: Sylvia Louise Hitchcock
1980: Shawn Weatherly
1995: Chelsi Smith
1997: Brook Lee
2012: Olivia Culpo
2022: R’Bonney Gabriel
Venezuela has produced seven Miss Universe winners.
Dayana Mendoza winning
Miss Universe 2008
1979: Maritza Sayalero
1981: Irene Sáez
1986: Bárbara Palacios
1996: Alicia Machado
2008: Dayana Mendoza
2009: Stefanía Fernández
2013: Gabriela Isler
Puerto Rico has brought home five Miss Universe titles.
Miss Puerto Rico Dayanara Torres after winning Miss Universe 1993.
1970: Marisol Malaret
1985: Deborah Carthy-Deu
1993: Dayanara Torres
2001: Denise M. Quiñones
2006: Zuleyka Rivera
Miss Philippines 2015 Pia Wurtzbach wins the title.
The Philippines has had four winners.
1969: Gloria Diaz
1973: Margarita Moran
2015: Pia Wurtzbach
2018: Catriona Gray
Sweden has had three winners.
Miss Universe 1984, Sweden’s Yvonne Ryding.
1955: Hillevi Rombin
1966: Margareta Arvidsson
1984: Yvonne Ryding
South Africa also has had three Miss Universe wins.
Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe in 2019
1978: Margaret Gardiner
2017: Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters
2019: Zozibini Tunzi
Mexico tied with Sweden and South Africa after Andrea Meza was crowned.
Miss Mexico Andrea Meza is crowned Miss Universe onstage in Hollywood, Florida, on May 16, 2021.
1991: Lupita Jones
2010: Ximena Navarrete
2020: Andrea Meza
India has three Miss Universe titles after Harnaaz Sandhu won in 2021.
Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu is crowned Miss Universe in Eilat, Israel on December 13, 2021.
1994: Sushmita Sen
2000: Lara Dutta
2021: Harnaaz Sandhu
