Grand Slam Ranking and Country of the Year 2004
2004: ANALYSING THE MAIN CHANGES IN THE GRAND SLAM RANKING DURING THE PAST YEAR
Australia, after winning Miss U-2004, went up to the 6th place in the Grand Slam Ranking, switching places with Finland (7th, down 1);
Colombia jumped to the 8th place after winning Miss International 2004;
Peru, a country that had been losing ground, made an important recovery after winning the Miss World title, going from 31st to 26th place (up 5);
The Dominican Republic, 38th, went 4 notches up, same as Wales, which went from 56th to 52nd place;
China, 56th, up 7, kept on growing; Paraguay also earned 7 positions in the GSR that year, arriving at the 73rd place;
Antigua & Barbuda, 110th, up 26 notches, was the best mover of the year.
Miss World Ranking in 2004 (Top 20): 1-England / UK; 2-United States; 3-Venezuela; 4-South Africa; 5-India; 6-Israel; 7-Australia; 8-Jamaica; 9-Sweden; 10-France; 11-Germany; 12-Austria; 13-Finland; 14-Brazil; 15-Argentina; 16-Netherlands; 17-Ireland; 18-Denmark; 19-Greece; 20-Colombia.
Miss Universe Ranking in 2004 (Top 20): 1-United States; 2-Venezuela; 3-Sweden; 4-Brazil; 5-Colombia; 6-Finland; 7-Puerto Rico; 8-India; 9-Germany; 10-Philippines; 11-Israel; 12-England / UK; 13-Australia; 14-Spain; 15-South Africa; 16-Japan; 17-Greece; 18-Norway; 19-Canada; 20-Mexico.
Miss International Ranking in 2004 (Top 20): 1-United States; 2-Venezuela; 3-Spain; 4-Colombia; 5-England / UK; 6-Australia; 7-Philippines; 8-Finland; 9-Japan; 10-Brazil; 11-Germany; 12-Poland; 13-Korea; 14-Norway; 15-France; 16-India; 17-Iceland; 18-Israel; 19-New Zealand; 20-Argentina.
COUNTRY OF THE YEAR 2004: UNITED STATES
Like in 1965, the USA did the almost impossible: it was the Country of the Year without winning any of the three Grand Slam titles at the time. @shandifinnessey was 2nd in Miss U, the same placement achieved by Amy Holbrook in Miss International. In Miss World, Brazilian-American beauty Nancy Randall was 3rd.
Australia came 2nd with Jennifer Hawkins having won the Miss Universe title, and a Miss World semi-finalist (top 15). Colombia, the Miss International winner, with Yeymmy Vargas, and a top 10 placement in Miss Universe, was 3rd.
Something curious is that in 2004 Venezuela totally blacked out, which made the USA increase the gap between 1st and 2nd places in the Grand Slam Ranking.
This is how the top nations of 2004 scored in the GSR:
1) USA (3500 points);
2) Australia (3451);
3) Colombia (3351).
Top 5: Peru (3002) and Philippines (1326).