The pageant has attracted delegates from countries and territories that typically frown upon beauty pageants. Samadzai was the first Afghan to compete in an international beauty pageant in almost three decades, but the fact that she wore a bikini caused an uproar in her native country. Her involvement in the pageant was condemned by the
Afghan Supreme Court, saying such a display of the female body goes against
Islamic law and
Afghan culture. In 2005, a Pakistani beauty queen, Naomi Zaman, was the first
Miss Pakistan World winner to participate in Miss Earth, and is the first delegate from Pakistan to compete in any major international pageant; beauty pageants are frowned upon in Pakistan.
Miss Tibet Earth 2006,
Tsering Chungtak, the first
Tibetan to represent
Tibet in any major international beauty pageant, made headlines when she drew international attention towards the Tibetan struggle for freedom. She also advocated for the boundaries of acceptable social etiquette towards the 21st century, in a traditionally conservative Tibetan culture, where most grown women wear ankle-length dresses. Nevertheless, her participation in the pageant received approval from the
Dalai Lama.
Carousel Productions licensed the Miss Cuba organization in 2007 to select the first Cuban representative at Miss Earth.
Ariana Barouk won; she became the first Miss Cuba in several decades, and competed at the Miss Earth pageant. Also in
2007 pageant, Miss Earth made history when delegates from China, Hong Kong,
Macau, Taiwan, and Tibet all competed together for the first time in an international pageant in spite of political sensitivities. In 2008, the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan, one of the world's most isolated nations, sent its first
Miss Bhutan, Tsokye Tsomo Karchun. Rwanda also sent its first ever Miss Rwanda national winner, Cynthia Akazuba; both of them competed at the
Miss Earth 2008 pageant. In 2009, Beauties of Africa, Inc., the franchise holder of
Miss Earth South Sudan sent Aheu Kidum Deng, Miss South Sudan 2009, who stands 196 cm (6 feet and 5 inches), and is the tallest documented beauty queen ever to take part in any international beauty pageants. Palestine debuted in one of the
Big Four pageants in 2016 via Miss Earth when Natali Rantissi represented Palestine with the approval of
Mahmoud Abbas, the
President of the State of Palestine and
Palestinian National Authority, where she made a courtesy call at the Moukata Palace prior to her departure to participate in the pageant. Miss Palestine refused to wear a bikini but was allowed to partake in the events including in the
Miss Earth 2016 finale. Also in the 2016 pageant, the
Miss Iraq Organization sent Susan Amer Sulaimani as Iraq's first representative since 1972 in Big Four pageants to participate in Miss Earth 2016. She was the only one who wore a dress instead of a bikini during the pageant's
press-conference.
Miss Lebanon 2018 Salwa Akar received international press attention when she was stripped of her title in Lebanon, while participating in
Miss Earth 2018 pageant after she posted a photo in Facebook with her arm around
Miss Israel's Dana Zerik and gestured the
peace sign. Lebanon and Israel are in a long-standing state of war. As a result, she was unable to continue her participation in the Miss Earth pageant. In a press release, Israel's Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman, reacted on Akar's dethronement and condemned the "Lebanese apartheid". Papua New Guinea sent its first representative in the
Miss Earth 2019 pageant with Pauline Tibola, becoming the first representative in the
Big Four international beauty pageants since
Miss World 1990. In 2020, the 20th edition of Miss Earth marked the entrant of countries such as Bangladesh (Meghna Alam), Burkina Faso (Amira Naïmah Bassané) and Syria (Tiya Alkerdi). It was the second time Burkina Faso participated in the Big Four pageants after
Miss International 2019 and first for Syria to participate in major international pageant in several decades after
Miss World 1966. The Miss Iran Organization crowned Hami Zaker in 2021 as its first Miss Earth Iran in which she competed in the
Miss Earth 2021 and became the first Iranian woman to participate in the Big Four international pageant. She participated in the swimsuit competition, albeit in a conservative outfit that recognized her nation's cultural background. At
Miss Earth 2022, Burundi participated in their first Big Four pageant with Lauria Nishimwe. Cabo Verde (Tayrine da Veiga) and Senegal (Camilla Diagné) also debuted at this event. In
2024, the
Arab nations of Algeria (Sadjia Herbane) and the United Arab Emirates (
Noura Al Jasmi) competed in the pageant for the first time. This marked the United Arab Emirates' debut in any major international pageant. ==Host countries==