In 1980, the World Heritage List included Rome and in 2021 it was the most tagged site on Instagram. Photo / Michele Bitetto
Folllwing two world wars within 30 years, UNESCO was formed in 1945 with a clear goal; to unite people and encourage an appreciation for the world's diverse destinations and cultures.
75 years later, the organisation have identified 1,154 sites (897 cultural, 218 natural, and 39 mixed) as worthy of being on UNESCO World Heritage sites list.
Around the world, a spot on this list is still considered one of the best achievements a landmark can receive. Although, it's not the only institution that now has the power to put places on the map.
In recent years, Instagram has become a powerful force in travel and tourism, allowing people to share pictures and videos of certain places with millions of people.
One company decided to combine information from UNESCO and Instagram to see what World Heritage sites were most popular on the social media platform in 2021.
Design Bundles, a digital design company, analysed 145 sites that had been tagged most often on Instagram this year and ranked them in order of posts.
Winning by a mile was Rome's historic centre with around 61.2 million posts. In second was Rio de Janeiro with approximately 45 million followed by Venice and its lagoon with almost 25.8 million.
The top 10 were claimed entirely by cultural sites such as Kyiv, the historic centres of Florence and Prague, Budapest, Brasilia, Saint Petersburg's historic centre, and Quito.
In 15th place, Yosemite National Park was the most popular natural site and location in America with 4.6 million posts.
According to UNESCO, Italy has the highest number of World Heritage sites (58), followed by China (56) and Germany (51).
New Zealand has three designated sites; Tongariro National Park, Te Wahipounamu, and the Subantarctic Islands.
30 most popular UNESCO World Heritage Sites according to Instagram users:
1. Historic Center of Rome: 61,244,436
2. Rio de Janeiro: 45,039,569
3. Venice and its Lagoon: 25,755,922
4. Kyiv: 21,914,502
5.Historic Center of Florence: 21,516,815
6. Historic Center of Prague: 17,731,077
7. Budapest: 14,665,910
8. Brasilia: 13,277,931
9. Historic Center of Saint Petersburg: 11,987,336
10. City of Quito: 9,854,551
11. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh: 9,779,579
12. Historic Site of Lyon: 9,400,931
13. City of Verona: 5,661,681
14. Rabat: 4,629,743
15. Yosemite National Park: 4,611,905
16. Grand Canyon National Park: 4,021,300
17. Old Havana and its Fortification System: 4,017,138
18. Cultural Landscape of Bali: 3,985,530
19. Cathedral of Notre Dame: 3,787,550
20. Works of Antoni Gaudí: 3,451,098
21. City of Luxembourg: 3,450,869
22. Historic Center of Salzburg: 3,195,863
23. Göreme National Park: 3,009,297
24. Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks: 2,996,880
25. Yellowstone National Park: 2,832,668
26. Antigua Guatemala: 2,765,980
27. Old City of Dubrovnik: 2,637,398
28. Dorset and East Devon Coast: 2,629,228
29. The Dolomites: 2,532,349
30. Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 2,261,394