Best Countries 2024

Which country is the best country? Simple answers to this question are easy to find but change dramatically depending upon personal opinion and one's definition of the word "best". Is it the country with the most wealth? The one with the greatest personal freedoms? Or perhaps the one with the highest happiness, most Nobel Prize winners, largest actual size, or something else entirely? Scientifically and statistically sound answers prove challenging to obtain.

One of the most sophisticated and respected attempts to determine the world's "best" countries is the annual Best Countries rankings, which is generated by the US News and World Report with the help of BAV Group and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. The Best Countries rankings begin with the selection of the 87 countries most likely to appear in the "best" rankings. These countries produce approximately 95% of global gross domestic product and represent almost 80% of the world's population. More than 17,000 surveys are then conducted regarding these nations, with specific attention paid to 73 specific country attributes. The results of these surveys are then compiled to produce a statistically valid, data-backed ranking of the "best" countries.

Top 10 Best Countries (US News and World Report 2023):*

Country	Overall Rank
Switzerland	1
Canada	2
Sweden	3
Australia	4
United States	5
Japan	6
Germany	7
New Zealand	8
United Kingdom	9
Netherlands	10

Best Countries categories

The 73 country attributes surveyed by the Best Countries rankings can be grouped into 10 overarching subranking categories such as Social Purpose, Power, and Cultural Influence, each of which contribute a weighted percentage of the final country rankings. The categories comprising 68 attributes with their corresponding percentages for 2023 are listed below. The remaining five attributes tracked are used for purposes other than determining the country rankings and so are not shown.

Category	Weight	Components
Adventure	5.37%	Friendliness, fun, tourism appeal, climate, scenery, sexiness
Agility	14.02%	Adaptability, progressiveness, responsiveness
Cultural Influence	10.44%	Modernism, cultural significance of entertainment, fashionability, happiness, cultural influence, strength of consumer brands, prestige, trendiness
Entrepreneurship	14.13%	Connection to rest of the world, education of population, entrepreneurialism, innovativeness, ease of access to capital, skill of labor force, technological expertise, transparency of business practices, digital infrastructure, physical infrastructure, development of legal framework
Heritage	3.13%	Cultural accessibility, richness of history, cuisine quality, cultural attractions, geographical attractions
Movers	11.54%	Dynamism, difference, distinctiveness, uniqueness
Open for Business	9.43%	Manufacturing costs, favorability of tax environment, degree of bureaucracy, corruption, transparency of government practices
Power	5.00%	Global leadership, economic influence, strength of exports, political influence, strength of international alliances, strength of military
Quality of Life	14.12%	Strength of job market, affordability, economic stability, family-friendliness, income equality, political stability, safety, development of public education system, development of public health system
Social Purpose	12.83%	Care for animal rights, care for human rights, care about environment, commitment to climate goals, commitment to social justice, gender equality, racial equality, religious freedom, respect for property rights, trustworthiness, distribution of political power

Profiles of the world's five best countries

1. Switzerland

A consistent top performer, Switzerland ranked #4 in 2021, moved to #1 in 2022, and maintained its top position into 2023. Known for its historic neutrality even during World War II, Switzerland continued to lead the world in the Open for Business category in 2023 and also scored in the top ten in the categories of Cultural Influence (8th), Social Purpose (8th), Entrepreneurship (6th), and Quality of Life (6th). Switzerland has low unemployment, a skilled workforce, highly developed financial services and high-tech manufacturing industries, and one of the highest gross domestic products per capita in the world. The Swiss have also collected more patents and [Nobel Prizes] per capita than any other citizenry and enjoy one of the world's longest life expectancies of any population in the world.

2. Canada

Canada took first place in 2021, dropped two spots in 2022, and took second place in 2023. The second-largest country in the world in terms of total area, Canada posted top-ten rankings in Agility (2nd), Entrepreneurship (5th), Quality of Life (3rd), and Social Purpose (4th). Canada boasts a high standard of living and has embraced its multiculturalism admirably. Its economy is driven by a healthy service sector. Canada also has some of the world's largest oil reserves and is one of the world's leading oil producers.

3. Sweden

Sweden (fifth place in 2022, ninth in 2021) took the third spot in 2023. The country ranked first in both Quality of Life and Social Purpose in 2022 and 2023 and also ranked high in Open for Business (4th), Entrepreneurship (9th), and Agility (7th) in 2023. Similarly to the Swiss, the people of Sweden enjoy quite high life expectancies and have remained largely neutral through many significant military conflicts. While Sweden's taxes are high compared to many other countries, they are often used to benefit society as a whole, such as providing all citizens with no-cost health care and tuition-free university education. Sweden is also among the world's greenest countries, with a high recycling rate. Swedes are also known to be quite generous and donate the equivalent of roughly 1% of the country's gross national product to aid programs each year.

4. Australia

Australia (fifth in 2021, seventh in 2022) earned the ranking of the fourth best country in the world in 2023. The country also ranked in the top 10 for Agility (3rd), Quality of Life (8th), Social Purpose (9th), and Adventure (8th). Australia is considered a wealthy nation, its market-based economy having a rather high gross domestic product and per capita income. The service sector and the export of commodities drive the country’s economy.

5. United States

The fifth-best country of 2023 (sixth-best of 2021 and fourth in 2022) is the United States, which ranked first in the Agility, Power, and Entrepreneurship categories, as well as third in Cultural Influence. The reach and impact of the US is significant, from its economic and military influence to its pop culture, spread by music, movies, and television programming. The US has the highest GDP in the world (and the highest GNI/GDI as well), and is one of the most technologically advanced countries. The US also boasts the highest military spending (though arguably not the largest military).

87 countries

Country	Overall Rank	Adventure Rank	Agilty Rank	Cultural Influence	Entrepreneurship Rank	Heritage Rank	Movers Rank	Business Rank	Power Rank	Quality Of Life	Social Purpose Rank
Switzerland	1	13	16	8	6	23	23	1	21	6	8
Canada	2	20	2	15	5	28	57	11	13	3	4
Sweden	3	24	7	14	9	44	41	4	23	1	1
Australia	4	8	3	12	15	19	26	13	17	8	9
United States	5	33	1	3	1	21	24	59	1	23	19
Japan	6	30	6	5	3	6	11	37	8	14	23
Germany	7	43	10	10	2	20	58	22	4	9	13
New Zealand	8	7	4	22	21	26	16	10	31	10	6
United Kingdom	9	38	14	6	4	15	61	45	5	13	12
Netherlands	10	15	9	18	12	27	45	14	25	7	7
Norway	11	23	8	27	18	34	42	5	35	2	2
France	12	11	18	2	13	4	44	44	7	17	16
Denmark	13	28	11	19	11	35	69	6	32	4	5
Finland	14	27	12	32	16	50	39	3	41	5	3
Italy	15	2	21	1	22	1	21	47	16	20	20
Singapore	16	16	5	17	10	32	7	7	24	21	25
Spain	17	4	17	4	24	3	36	29	20	18	17
Belgium	18	36	20	23	14	42	76	15	28	11	10
United Arab Emirates	19	48	15	9	17	53	1	40	10	26	48
China	20	61	19	16	8	13	6	61	2	25	78
South Korea	21	54	13	7	7	31	10	74	6	24	40
Austria	22	17	23	28	19	18	73	18	38	12	11
Ireland	23	14	27	26	25	17	52	16	48	15	14
Luxembourg	24	46	26	33	20	60	72	2	45	16	15
Portugal	25	6	24	25	29	11	66	23	39	19	18
Qatar	26	57	22	21	23	67	2	71	22	27	76
Greece	27	3	28	13	33	2	15	43	43	28	22
Brazil	28	1	25	11	35	12	9	70	19	46	36
Thailand	29	5	30	20	38	9	8	9	33	34	45
India	30	53	37	29	31	10	5	36	12	39	71
Saudi Arabia	31	75	29	35	26	51	4	84	9	30	75
Turkey	32	19	34	31	34	8	14	56	15	32	59
Mexico	33	9	31	24	39	5	20	63	26	41	44
Egypt	34	25	46	30	49	7	3	64	34	52	51
Poland	35	41	32	46	30	30	85	27	37	22	21
Israel	36	67	35	47	27	37	12	83	11	43	57
Russia	37	79	36	38	28	43	19	87	3	51	58
Malaysia	38	31	38	42	37	33	31	12	42	31	55
Argentina	39	12	33	34	41	16	53	75	47	44	32
Morocco	40	21	50	36	62	14	13	33	54	48	60
Indonesia	41	34	48	43	45	22	22	19	36	38	56
Costa Rica	42	10	45	37	74	45	27	20	74	50	41
Philippines	43	22	44	39	50	36	32	21	46	37	53
Vietnam	44	42	47	53	42	29	17	31	27	36	72
Croatia	45	29	39	45	40	41	64	55	79	33	27
South Africa	46	35	43	40	44	24	28	79	29	55	39
Cyprus	47	26	51	49	61	49	29	17	81	54	43
Czech Republic	48	50	40	51	32	48	86	72	66	29	24
Hungary	49	52	49	58	36	39	81	46	67	35	26
Peru	50	32	61	48	69	25	30	34	70	62	50
Chile	51	37	42	50	56	38	56	49	55	53	42
Panama	52	39	59	52	58	62	48	8	65	71	49
Dominican Republic	53	18	58	41	78	56	51	39	75	61	46
Sri Lanka	54	44	80	59	66	54	18	25	53	66	77
Romania	55	47	57	55	53	46	75	58	78	40	37
Estonia	56	65	55	69	43	68	77	28	87	45	28
Uruguay	57	51	52	60	67	63	67	32	80	60	38
Bahrain	58	81	54	54	48	85	35	51	59	59	86
Kenya	59	56	75	61	79	57	25	57	73	70	54
Colombia	60	40	63	44	60	40	71	76	44	67	52
Bulgaria	61	55	67	62	54	58	84	24	82	42	35
Lithuania	62	71	53	87	46	76	78	26	84	57	31
Slovakia	63	66	56	82	47	64	83	41	85	47	29
Cambodia	64	63	82	65	75	55	33	38	62	56	80
Oman	65	80	65	67	57	72	37	60	56	65	73
Slovenia	66	62	60	77	52	65	87	52	83	49	30
Jordan	67	60	70	57	63	47	60	68	61	68	62
Ukraine	68	85	41	63	51	81	80	82	14	87	34
Bangladesh	69	82	79	71	65	82	43	30	40	58	83
Tunisia	70	49	74	56	73	52	68	42	77	64	67
Ecuador	71	45	64	70	77	61	70	54	68	69	47
Latvia	72	68	62	81	55	73	82	35	86	63	33
Ghana	73	73	76	64	76	84	49	48	63	72	63
El Salvador	74	58	78	66	85	71	47	67	60	77	65
Guatemala	75	59	77	75	84	69	59	50	64	74	68
Zimbabwe	76	74	87	72	87	75	34	65	69	78	66
Azerbaijan	77	72	69	78	72	80	40	69	57	82	81
Cameroon	78	70	81	80	82	79	55	53	76	76	70
Algeria	79	78	66	74	71	70	65	66	52	79	69
Myanmar	80	76	84	79	83	77	38	73	58	75	85
Honduras	81	64	71	73	86	78	62	62	72	80	74
Serbia	82	77	68	83	64	66	79	78	71	73	61
Uzbekistan	83	83	86	86	81	86	46	77	51	83	79
Kazakhstan	84	86	83	85	80	83	50	80	50	81	82
Lebanon	85	69	72	68	68	59	74	81	49	85	84
Belarus	86	84	73	84	59	87	63	85	30	84	64
Iran	87	87	85	76	70	74	54	86	18	86	87