Iceland is known for its hot springs and Northern lights.

But now, researchers have revealed it is also the chlamydia capital of Europe.

While the Nordic countries has high rates of the sexually transmitted disease (STD), rates in the US are even more alarming.

Since 1980, rates of chlamydia in the US have soared compared to Europe.

And while the number of Americans with gonorrhoea has declined since 1980, the figure for the US still eclipses rates of its European counterparts.

Washington D.C., shown in the diagrams under its former name of the District of Columbia, had the most syphilis, HIV and gonorrhoea, while Kentucky was the state with the highest rates of hepatitis.

Meanwhile, Estonia tops the European scale for HIV rates, Russia sits in the top five for the most HPV, hepatitis B, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV.

Researchers at onlinedoctor.superdrug.com used the latest data from the World Health Organisation and the US' Centres for Disease Centers Control and Prevention (CDC).

They plotted maps and graphs of STD rates in Europe and the US, from 1980 to 2013.

Here, they reveal the most STD-riddled countries...

Researchers found a stark difference between the United States and Europe. Graphs, showing the difference between rates of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis in Europe (left) and the U.S. (right), show Europe has managed to keep the incidence of STDs relatively low. There was one spike for chlamydia in 2005 and increases in gonorrhoea and syphilis in the mid-1990s. Outside of that, there were no drastic increases in these STDs in Europe. What occurred with STD rates in the United States is more alarming, researchers said. gonorrhoea rates, which were soaring compared to incidences of the disease in Europe, declined drastically in this period. But the gonorrhoea in the US still eclipses rates of its European counterparts. Worse yet is how much the US’s chlamydia incidence has risen over the same period of time; rates are sky high compared with statistics across the sea.

The table shows the top five countries in Europe with the highest rate per STD. Iceland may be known for it's natural beauty, but it also sits No. 1 on the top five for chlamydia, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C infections in Europe. It is also in the top five for HPV. Russia had the most top five placements on these not-so-flattering charts, showing up in five of the eight lists. Moldova has the most herpes, while the UK tops the HPV chart

The table shows the top 5 US states by STD incidence. The District of Columbia - now known as Washington D.C. - is the place where HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhoea are diagnosed at the highest rates. Researchers said D.C.’s own health officials have called its HIV rates 'higher than rates in West African nations'. They pointed out the District’s massive rates of HIV and AIDS are linked to delays in treatment after diagnosis, a lack of testing, and misconceptions about susceptibility to HIV/AIDS

The map above highlights which STD had the most new diagnoses annually in a given country, averaged from 2000 to 2013. Certain STDs seem to rule certain regions. For example, among northern European and eastern countries, chlamydia was typically the disease with the most new cases. In Germany and Poland in central Europe, hepatitis C was the most frequently diagnosed STD. In southwest Europe, France, Spain, and Italy, there were more new HIV cases than any other STD. However, looking at rates per individual, new diagnoses of STDs – especially chlamydia – are still far less common in Europe than in the United States

The heat maps above show the changes over time in the rates of new cases of chlamydia and gonorrhoea per individual across the US.

Notably, Washington, D.C., requires its own scale, researchers said, due to its very high rate of STDs.

Peak rates of gonorrhoea in the capital were more than three times higher than the peak rate among the other 50 states.

The District’s Department of Health acknowledges a struggle of epidemic proportions with chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and other STDs, as well as hepatitis and HIV.

The US' Centres for Disease Control has attributed its success – and failure – in combating sexually transmitted diseases to education and access to healthcare.