8 One Color Towns Around The World

We've all heard about the colorful towns around the world, there are really lots of them and their facades are very colorful and striking. But, are there any towns that are painted in only one color? Of course there are, but they are very rare. Exactly, the following list deals with these unusual tourist destinations - a one-color towns, enjoy the article.

01. Júzcar — Spain

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Júzcar (220 residents) is a town in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. In spring 2011, buildings in the town (including the church and gravestones) were painted blue to celebrate the premiere of the Smurfs movie. 4,000 litres (1,100 US gal) of paint was used.

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In December 2011, Sony Pictures offered to repaint the town. Citizens voted to leave the buildings painted blue, as an estimated 80,000 tourists visited in the six months following the repainting. The town normally sees 300 tourists per year. Link Map
07 more Towns after the break...

02. Izamal — Mexico

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Izamal is a town in the Mexican state of Yucatán, 72 km (about 40 miles) east of state capital Mérida. Izamal was continuously occupied throughout most of Mesoamerican chronology; in 2000, the city's estimated population was 15,000 people. This settlement is known in Yucatán as "The Yellow City".

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The first thing you notice about Izamal is the color: Virtually all the buildings and facades in Izamal are painted a rich mustard yellow, as is the convent. It is a very walkable city, and part of the pleasure of Izamal is simply wandering about its narrow streets, discovering picturesque facades, stone churches, artistic workshops and even Maya pyramids behind every other corner. Link 1 2 Map

03. Jaipur — India

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Nicknamed the “pink city”, Jaipur, the capital city of the desert state of Rajasthan, features architecture of pink sandstone - from grand structures and forts to tiny markets. The town looks even more surreal with elephants, camels and cows strolling past the pink buildings.

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Jaipur was founded in 1727 AD. by Sawai Jai Singh II and was named after him. In 1863 Jaipur dressed itself in "pink" to welcome Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. The colour became an integral part of the city and it came to be known as `The Pink City`. The capital city of Rajasthan still preserves its rich heritage and culture and is a fine blend of antiquity and modernity. Link Map

04. Jodhpur — India

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In the middle of the barren Thar desert you will find Jodhpur, also known as Blue City. It got that nickname because every little building and house in this fortress city is painted in a blue color, so from above it looks like a blue spot in the middle of the Thar desert.

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It is still unknown why they all painted in the color blue, but some will say that it has something to do with the caste system in India. This historic city is full of forts, palaces and temples. Link Map

05. Collonges-la-Rouge — France

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Collonges-la-Rouge is 23 km (14.3 mi) southeast of Brive in the Limousin. This French town is a very attractive, and very popular with visitors to the region - the first thing you will notice is the colour of the place - more or less all the houses have been constructed from the local sandstone, which is very red!

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The town is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association ("The most beautiful villages of France"), and is actually where this association was created. It is one of the most visited sites in the Limousin - a region in central France. Link 1 2 Map

06. Piódão — Portugal

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The historical village of Piódão is located in the slope of Serra do Açor (a mountain in central Portugal). The houses are built in the local materials: slate walls, roofs covered with stone slabs and wooden doors and windows.

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Due to dark stone that is the basic building material, almost all the houses in this village are brown. It was considered Portugal’s most typical village in the decade of 1980. Link Map

07. Ubrique — Spain

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There’s a good reason the famous “White Towns” of Andalusia, in southern Spain, are all white-washed. The sun is hot in Andalusia, and white paint reflects the heat, keeping interiors cool. There are 1,500 white towns in Spain, scattered throughout the country, most of them situated in Andalucía. Many of them are hidden in remote places and are almost unknown.

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One of the largest and most famous "white towns" is Ubrique. This town is located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 17,362 inhabitants. Almost all the facades of houses, buildings and institutions in the town are painted in white. Link Map

08. Chefchaoen — Morocco

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Chefchaouen or Chaouen is a town in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name, and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue.

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The ancient town of Chefchaoen in Morocco served as a refuge for Jews during the Spanish Reconquista in the Middle Ages. Jewish refugees who fled Europe during the 1930s revived their neighborhoods in Chefchaoen by using a blue tinted whitewash on their homes. The color caught on, and now much of the town appears washed in a light blue rinse

The World's 15 Richest Muslim Countries

01. Qatar

GDP (PPP) per capita: $ 88,919 (2011)

(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

02. Kuwait

GDP (PPP) per capita: $54,654 (2011)

(AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT)

03. Brunei

GDP (PPP) per capita: $50,506 (2010)

(Getty Images)

04. United Arab Emirates

GDP (PPP) per capita: $48,222 (2011)

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

05. Oman

GDP (PPP) per capita: $28,880 (2011)

(AFP PHOTO/ MOHAMMED MAHJOUB)

06. Saudi Arabia

GDP (PPP) per capita: $24,434 (2011)

(AFP PHOTO/PATRICK BAZ)

07. Bahrain

GDP (PPP) per capita: $23, 690 (2011)

(ThinkStock Images)

08. Turkey

GDP (PPP) per capita: $16,885 (2011)

(Getty Images)

09. Libya

GDP (PPP) per capita: $16,855 (2009)

(Note: The figures are before the popular uprising in the country)

(Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

10. Malaysia

GDP (PPP) per capita: $15,589 (2011)

(Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

11. Lebanon

GDP (PPP) per capita:$14,709 (2011)

(AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EID)

12. Kazakhstan

GDP (PPP) per capita:$13,189 (2011)

(AFP PHOTO / VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO)

13. Iran

GDP (PPP) per capita: $11,479 (2009)

AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI

14. Azerbaijan

GDP (PPP) per capita: $10,136 (2011)

(AFP PHOTO / VANO SHLAMOV)

15. Tunisia

GDP (PPP) per capita: $9,415 (2011)

(Getty Images)

Note: The list is based on gross domestic product at purchasing power parity per capita, the value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given year divided by the average (or mid-year) population for the same year. Data refer mostly to the year 2011. World Development Indicators database, World Bank.] (Photo: REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal) Via — Link

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The Most Educated Countries in the World

College graduation rates continued to improve around the world during the recession, according to a recent international economic study. In more developed countries, the percentage of adults with the equivalent of a college degree rose to more than 30% in 2010. In the United States, it was more than 40%, which is among the highest percentages in the world. However, improvements in higher education are harder to achieve in these countries. More developed economies have had the most educated populations for some time. While these countries have steadily increased education rates, the increases have been modest compared to developing economies. At just above 1%, the U.S. has had one of the smallest annual growth rates for higher education since 1997. In Poland, an emerging market, the annualized rate was 7.2% from 1997 to 2010.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Education at a Glance 2012 report calculated the proportion of residents with a college or college equivalent degree in the group’s 34 member nations and other major economies. Based on the report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 countries with the highest proportion of adults with a college degree.

The majority of countries that spend the most on education have the most educated populations. As in previous years, the best educated countries tend to spend the most on tertiary education as a percentage of gross domestic product. The United States and Canada, among the most educated countries, spend the first and third most respectively.

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Among the 10 countries with the highest proportion of educated adults, unemployment rates for those with a college equivalent ranged from 2.8% in Australia to 5.4% in the Canada. In each country, the rate remained lower than that country’s national average. The OECD provided information on the percentage of residents aged 25 to 64 with a tertiary education for each of its 34 member countries, as well as for eight other nations. 2010 statistics on educational attainment, graduation rates, GDP per capita and unemployment rates also were provided by the OECD. The latest figures covering country-level education expenditure are from 2009. These are the 10 most educated countries in the world after the break...

01. Canada

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 51%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 2.4% (5th lowest)

> GDP per capita: $39,050 (11th highest)

Canada is the only nation where more than half of all adults had a tertiary education in 2010. This was up from 40% of the adult population in 2000, when the country also ranked as the world’s most educated. Canada has managed to become a world leader in education without being a leader in education spending, which totaled just 6.1% of GDP in 2009, or less than the 6.3% average for the OECD. A large amount of its spending went towards tertiary education, on which the country spent 2.5% of GDP, trailing only the United States and South Korea. One of the few areas Canada did not perform well in was attracting international students, who made up just 6.6% of all tertiary students — lower than the OECD’s 8% average.

02. Israel

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 46%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): N/A

> GDP per capita: $26,531 (13th lowest)

Israel only joined the OECD in 2010. That year, its GDP per capita was more than $7,000 below the OECD’s average. Despite this, the country’s high school graduation rate was 92% in 2010, well above the OECD’s 84% average. Some 46% of residents had a tertiary education, versus 31% for the OECD. Israel spent 7.2% of GDP on educational institutions in 2009, the sixth most among all nations. And for the first time, preschool education will become free in 2012 even for children as young as three years old, Haaretz newspaper reported. This should benefit Israel as, according to the OECD, “early childhood education is associated with better performance later on in school.”

03. Japan

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 45%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 2.9% (10th lowest)

> GDP per capita: $33,785 (18th highest)

In 2009, Japan spent 1.6% of GDP on college or college equivalent education, on par with the OECD’s average, and just 5.2% of GDP on education overall, well below the OECD’s 6.3% average. Despite its relatively light spending, the country still had a high school graduation rate of 96%, the second best among all nations in 2010, while the percentage of its population with a tertiary education was 14 percentage points higher than the OECD’s average. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, recent university graduates in Japan have struggled to find work, with 15% those graduating in the spring of 2012 neither employed nor enrolled in further education as of August.

04. United States

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 42%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 1.3% (2nd lowest)

> GDP per capita: $46,548 (4th highest)

Although the U.S. is one of just a few nations where more than 40% of people had a tertiary education in 2010, its education system is not without problems. Among the concerns, the graduation rate for upper secondary students in 2010 was 77%, well below the average rate of 84% for the OECD. Even though graduation rates were relatively low, the U.S. is one of the biggest spenders on education, with related expenditures equaling 7.3% of GDP in 2009. The U.S. was also the world’s largest spender on tertiary education in 2009, at 2.6% of GDP. The majority of funds for higher education, totaling 1.6% of GDP, came from private sources.

05. New Zealand

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 41%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 3.5% (13th highest)

> GDP per capita: $29,711 (17th lowest)

The tiny country’s population has grown 13.2% between 2000 and 2010, as has the country’s education system. The number of people with a college or college equivalent education rose from 29% to 41% over the period. The country also has become a destination of choice for international students, who made up 14.2% of tertiary students in 2010. New Zealand is also a leader in educating scientists, with 16% of students choosing a science for their field of study at the tertiary level — the highest proportion of any country.

06. South Korea

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 40%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 5.2% (6th highest)

> GDP per capita: $28,797 (16th lowest)

Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of South Koreans with a college education or more rose from 24% to 40%. In addition to being well-educated, many residents also invested considerable amounts towards their schooling. In 2009, only Iceland spent more than South Korea’s 8% of GDP. That year, no country in the study contributed more private funds for education at all levels than South Korea, at 3.1% of GDP, or for tertiary education, at 1.9%. Despite the investment, education does not appear to have a measurable impact on job seekers. The unemployment rate in 2010 for those with a tertiary degree was 3.3% — low relative to the OECD average of 4.7%, but not much lower than the 3.7% rate for all workers in the country.

07. United Kingdom

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 38%

> Average annual growth rate: 4.0% (10th highest)

> GDP per capita: $35,756 (15th highest)

Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of U.K. residents with a tertiary education rose 12 percentage points. The country’s universities are also popular among students from other nations. International students make up 16% of enrollment. The country recently has had a shift in how education is financed. While in 2000 the percentage of funds from private sources was 14.8%, it rose to 31.1% by 2009. Students also must cover more of the cost of higher education than in the past, as the cap on tuition fees was raised from 3,290 pounds to 9,000 pounds for the 2012-2013 year.

08. Finland

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 38%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 1.8% (4th lowest)

> GDP per capita: $36,307 (14th highest)

Finland spent 6.4% of its gross domestic product on education in 2009, with 97.6% of these funds coming from public sources, more than any country in the report. Between 2000 and 2010, high school graduation rates rose by just two percentage points, while the number of people with a college education or more rose by just six percentage points. As a result, Finland fell from fourth to eighth place among the world’s most educated countries. Finnish workers with a tertiary education were far more likely to be employed than those without such an education — the unemployment rate was 4.4% for residents with a degree and 8.4% for those without.

09. Australia

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 38%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 3.2% (12th lowest)

> GDP per capita: $40,790 (6th highest)

Australia is a preferred destination for many international students, which is why it should come as no surprise that they accounted for 21.2% of the country’s tertiary students in 2010, higher than every country other than Luxembourg. Finding a job in the country is not especially hard for those with a college degree. The country had an unemployment rate of just 2.8% in 2010 for workers with a tertiary degree, compared to a rate of just 5.2% for all workers.

10. Ireland

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Thinkstock> Pct. population with tertiary education: 37%

> Average annual growth rate (2000-2010): 7.3% (the highest)

> GDP per capita: $40,478 (7th highest)

From 2000 through 2010, the percentage of people with a college education or more in Ireland nearly doubled, rising at an annual average of 7.3% — faster than any country in the study. High school graduation rates also rose during that time, from 74% to 94%. Education has become especially critical for male job seekers in Ireland’s workforce, as 6.3% of men with a tertiary education were unemployed in 2010 versus 15.2% for all men nationwide.