National anthems are among the world's most recognisable and widely performed political texts. Many were written to rally troops, celebrate victory in war or unite new states. Today these battle cries are most often heard at sporting events.
Before each match at the World Cup, teams will sing songs of the conflicts that once divided them. To find out which countries will appear most often as enemies in the tournament's national anthems, The Economist used AI tools to analyse the translated lyrics of every competing country's song.
Spain is the most hated country in our textual analysis, appearing in three national anthems. Perhaps this is because Spain's former colonies and territories were more likely than Britain's to gain independence through revolutionary wars.
National anthems are an unusually macabre genre. All but eight countries competing in the World Cup make some reference to violence, whether through soldiers, armour, threats, descriptions of historical battles or explicit calls to arms.
Portugal's anthem, originally written as a protest song against Britain, is unusually bellicose. It contains 11 references to violence per 100 words, compared with a tournament average of roughly two.
Not all anthems are so sanguinary. Some of history's most notorious invaders sing remarkably peaceful songs. Britain's anthem asks God to save its king, while Germany's celebrates freedom, unity and happiness.
