The U.S. Is the Second Best Country in the World to Skinny Dip — Here's Number One

Swap your swimsuit for a birthday suit.

Maybe it's a personal choice, a cultural thing, or because they just don't want to be marched to jail for breaking any local laws, but not everyone is super comfortable stripping down when they go to the beach.

Public nudity isn't legal everywhere in the world, but there are a few places in many different countries where you can soak in the sun, naked as the day you were born. And if you consider yourself a part-time nudist, you'll be sure to find a lot of amazing places to skinny dip, depending on which country you're in.

That's why Outforia, a website for outdoorsy people to discover nature and wilderness travel, compiled some data on the best countries in the world to go skinny dipping. Amongst the top five countries are France, the United States, Spain, Thailand, and Australia.

Perhaps the least surprising bit of data shows that France is the most nudist-friendly of all the countries. The country is well known for its public nude beaches, 397 in total, in addition to its 212 naturist campsites. According to Ouforia, France is also home to "Village Naturiste'' in Cap d'Age, where clothing is totally optional.

Surprisingly enough (at least to some people who live there), the United States comes in second, with 299 nudist-friendly beaches, but it also has the most naturist campsites, 253 across the country — particularly in warmer states like California and Florida. Public nudity is only partially legal in the U.S.

Number three in the rankings is Spain, which actually has the most nudist beaches (422 in total), with many more unofficial, secluded ones too, but only 95 naturist campsites. The number of nudist beaches and campsites drop off dramatically from there in the top five, with Thailand only having nine beaches and 12 campsites (though public nudity is legal), and Australia having 66 beaches and 57 campsites, but public nudity is only partially legal.

Israel, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Greece round out the top 10, respectively. Outforia's rankings also took into account the average annual air and water temperatures in each country, and unsurprisingly, some of the warmest countries in the world ended up ranking very high on the list.

The worst places in the world to skinny dip are generally countries with very strict nudity laws and cold temperatures, like Russia, Turkey, Iran, India, Belarus, Estonia, and China, amongst others.

More information about the best places to skinny dip can be found on the Outforia website.

Andrea Romano is a freelance writer in New York City. Follow her on Twitter @theandrearomano.