The Results:RankDocumentaryAverage IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes rating (out of 10)1David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020)9.352Our Planet (2019)9.253Africa (2013)9.154Kiss the Ground (2020)9.105Blue Planet II (2017)9.056Virunga (2014)8.707My Octopus Teacher (2020)8.65-8Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)8.50Chasing Coral (2017)8.5010Seaspiracy (2021)8.30-11Racing Extinction (2015)8.20Mission Blue (2014)8.20A Plastic Ocean (2016)8.2014Before the Flood (2016)7.95-15The Ivory Game (2016)7.65Trashed (2012)7.6517There’s Something In The Water (2019)6.4518RiverBlue (2017)6.40
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet is the best nature documentary according to fans, with an impressive average rating of 9.35 out of a possible 10. Known for voicing environmental issues throughout the decades, the British natural historian shares his concerns about
humanity’s harmful impacts on nature and his hopes for our planet's future.
Also narrated by the broadcasting veteran Sir David Attenborough, Netflix’s first nature documentary series Our Planet and Africa come in second and third place with an average rating of 9.25 and 9.15 out of 10, respectively. Both series focus on wildlife and habitats, with Our Planet also revealing the impacts of climate change
in species and ecosystems.
Last but no less important is the documentary RiverBlue in 15th place with an average rating of 6.40 out of 10. Released in 2017, the film explores the paddler and conservationist Mark Angelo’s river journey around the world that
uncovered the pollution impacts the global fashion industry has on our planet.
Directed by Elliot Page and Ian Daniel, There’s Something In The Water (2019) comes towards the bottom of the list in 14th place with an average rating of 6.45 out of 10. The Canadian documentary sheds light on the little known issue of environmental racism suffered by the Black Canadian
and First Nations communities in Nova Scotia (Canada).Methodology:
1. Analysing multiple articles listing the best documentaries to watch, TheKnowledgeAcademy.com took the most listed documentaries related to the environment and nature. All sources are listed in the second tab of this Google sheet.
2. They calculated the average rating index of the 20 most listed documentaries for each category by combining film
ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.
3. Where a documentary's ratings were not available on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes, it was excluded from the study.
*According to Google Trends Worldwide on 16/07/2021.
Data commissioned by https://www.theknowledgeacademy.com/