Since the 1950s, the Miss Universe organization has been providing a safe space for women "to share their stories and drive impact personally, professionally and philanthropically."

The 72nd edition of the Miss Universe, which will take place on Saturday at the José Adolfo Pineda Arena in San Salvador, El Salvador, is expected to be one of the most impactful because its rules were recently modified to accept married women and mothers to compete as well.

While waiting for who the next Miss Universe will be, here are the top four countries with the most Miss Universe titles so far.

1. United States

The United States is the current owner of the Miss Universe crown after Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel won the 71st Miss Universe competition.

So far, the United States is dominating the Miss Universe stage with nine wins. In the 1950s, Miriam Stevenson and Carol Morris took home the crown in 1954 and 1956, respectively.

In 1960 and 1967, Linda Bement and Sylvia Lousie Hitchcock bagged the Miss Universe titles, respectively. Shawn Weatherly, Chelsi Smith, Brook Lee and Olivia Culpo added to USA's wins in 1980, 1995, 1997 and 2012, respectively. 

2. Venezuela

Venezuela won its first Miss Universe crown in 1979 with Maritza Sayalero's victory. So far, the South American country has seven wins from the prestigious global beauty pageant.

Two years after Sayalero's victory, Irene Sáez won the crown again in 1981. Bárbara Palacios, Alicia Machado, Dayana Mendoza, Stefanía Fernández and Gabriela Isler also brought prestige to Venezuela when they took home the Miss Universe crown in 1986, 1996, 2008, 2009 and 2013, respectively. 

3. Puerto Rico

Also known as La Isla del Encanto, which means "the Island of Enchantment," Puerto Rico is home to Miss Universe title holders, too. So far, the Caribbean island has brought home five Miss Universe crowns, starting with Marisol Malaret in 1970. 

After 15 years, the Miss Universe crown was home again after Deborah Carthy-Deu's victory in 1985. Dayanara Torres, Denise M. Quiñones and Zuleyka Rivera followed suit in 1993, 2001 and 2006. 4.

4. The Philippines

The Philippines made its first victory in the Miss Universe competition in 1969 when Gloria Diaz was crowned the winner. She was the first Filipino and second Southeast Asian to win the Miss Universe title.

Margarita Moran took home the second win for the Philippines in the global beauty pageant in 1973. Pia Wurtzback and Catriona Gray were crowned Miss Universe in 2015 and 2018, respectively, making the Philippines the fourth country with the highest number of Miss Universe winners, with a total of four wins.

Tied at the fifth spot on the list are Mexico, Sweden, South Africa and India, with three Miss Universe crowns each. 

Tags: Miss Universe