Three things drive this map: photogenic landmark density per square mile, smartphone penetration, and how many people uploaded geo-tagged photos to a specific Google platform in the 2010s. Central Europe maxes all three. Sub-Saharan Africa scores near zero on the last two. Italy, France, Austria, and Germany form the hottest cluster on Earth. Brighter than Tokyo. Brighter than LA. Italy alone has 59 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Every medieval town square and cathedral was built before cars, so the entire environment is walkable and photogenic enough to shoot in an afternoon. A tourist in Florence hits the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, and the Uffizi in a 15-minute walk. Japan burns almost as bright despite being a fraction of the size. Near-universal smartphone penetration since the early 2010s. A culture where photography is default social behavior. Cherry blossom season generates millions of geo-tagged images every April. And a rail system that puts every photogenic spot within two hours of Tokyo. Now look at what's dark. Africa has 1.4 billion people. 18% of the world's population. Barely registers. 75% of the continent still isn't on mobile internet. Lagos, Nairobi, Kinshasa are cities of 10-15 million each. They're dark because the data source (Google's Panoramio) counted uploads to a Western platform most of the developing world never used. North Korea is completely black next to a glowing South Korea. Same peninsula. Same mountains. The only variable is political access to the global internet. Overall, a fascinating reflection of photogenic density, smartphone penetration, and population.