Grand Slam Ranking and Country of the Year 1998
1998: ANALYSING THE MAIN CHANGES IN THE GRAND SLAM RANKING DURING THE PAST YEAR
After winning the Miss World crown, Israel returned to the 9th place in the Grand Slam Ranking, switching places with Colombia, then 10th;
Trinidad and Tobago earned two slots after succeeding in Miss Universe, moving from the 37th to the 35th position;
Panama, 40th, up 6, took the lead in the GSR among the Central American nations;
Malaysia, after a historical 3rd place in Miss World, went up nine notches, reaching the 57th place;
The best mover of the year was Macedonia FYRO (today´s North Macedonia): after a Top 15 placement in Miss International, it went from 145th to 107th place (up 38).
Miss World Ranking in 1998 (Top 20): 1-UK; 2-United States; 3-Venezuela; 4-South Africa; 5-Israel; 6-Jamaica; 7-Sweden; 8-Australia; 9-France; 10-India; 11-Germany; 12-Austria; 13-Finland; 14-Brazil; 15-Argentina; 16-Denmark; 17-Netherlands; 18-Greece; 19-New Zealand; 20-Ireland.
Miss Universe Ranking in 1998 (Top 20): 1-United States; 2-Venezuela; 3-Sweden; 4-Brazil; 5-Finland; 6-Colombia; 7-Germany; 8-Puerto Rico; 9-England / UK; 10-Israel; 11-Philippines; 12-Japan; 13-Norway; 14-India; 15-Greece; 16-Australia; 17-Spain; 18-Argentina; 19-Italy; 20-Netherlands.
Miss International Ranking in 1998 (Top 20): 1-United States; 2-Spain; 3-England / UK; 4-Australia; 5-Philippines; 6-Venezuela; 7-Finland; 8-Colombia; 9-Brazil; 10-Japan; 11-Germany; 12-Norway; 13-Iceland; 14-Poland; 15-France; 16-Korea; 17-Israel; 18-India; 19-New Zealand; 20-Argentina.
COUNTRY OF THE YEAR 1998: ISRAEL
Linor Abargil's Miss World victory in the conclusion of the spectacular gala event held in the Seychelles, was enough to make Israel "Country of the Year" for the 2nd time.
Trinidad and Tobago came 2nd, after @wendyfitzwilliam became Miss Universe 1998, in Hawaii. Panama, with its first Grand Slam winner, Lía Victoria Borrero, Miss International 1998, came 3rd.
This is how the main nations of 1998 scored in the Grand Slam Ranking:
1) Israel (3002 points);
2) Trinidad and Tobago (3001);
3) Panama (2752).
Top 5: Venezuela (2401) and France (1676).