When it comes to ranking the best countries in the world, Canada has dropped two spots from its second-place spot.
But why?
With Canadian cities like Montreal being recognized as one of the world’s 20 best cities for food in 2024, and the province of Quebec pulling in honours thanks to 8 of its local hotels ranking the best in the world, the country should be topping the list.
Coming out strong when it comes to quality of life, entrepreneurship, social purpose, and agility, Canada came in behind the U.S. who placed third (its highest ranking in the report’s history) in this international survey.
The 2024 Best Countries rankings from U.S. News, based on a survey across 89 countries and almost 17,000 global citizens, include sub rankings such as heritage, adventure, cultural influence, power and social purpose.
Countries were evaluated based on 73 attributes derived from individual survey responses, where each country's score reflected how well it embodied a particular characteristic compared to the average.
These attribute scores were then grouped into 10 thematic sub rankings: Adventure, Agility, Cultural Influence, Entrepreneurship, Heritage, Movers, Open for Business, Power, Quality of Life, and Social Purpose. A country's sub ranking score was determined by averaging its attribute scores within each sub ranking.
When it comes to Canada, the country dropped from the second spot in 2023 to fourth in 2024. Excelling in agility and social purpose, Canada also stood out for attributes like friendliness and religious freedom, consistently ranking among the top in these categories.
What is the best country in the world?
Switzerland continues to dominate the Best Countries rankings, securing the No. 1 spot overall for the third consecutive year and for the seventh time since the rankings began. Although it doesn't top any individual subrankings, it performs exceptionally well, landing within the top 10 in several other categories. Additionally, Switzerland ranks first in key attributes like perceived safety and low levels of corruption.
What are the best country categories?
Movers (16.58%): different, distinctive, dynamic, unique.
Quality of Life (13.21%): a good job market, affordable, economically stable, family-friendly, income equality, politically stable, safe, well-developed public education system, well-developed public health system.
Entrepreneurship (12.91%): connected to the rest of the world, educated population, entrepreneurial, innovative, provides easy access to capital, skilled labor force, technological expertise, transparent business practices, well-developed infrastructure, well-developed digital infrastructure, well-developed legal framework.
Agility (12.65%): adaptable, dynamic, modern, progressive, responsive.
Social Purpose (12.53%): cares about human rights, cares about the environment, gender equality, religious freedom, respects property rights, trustworthy, well-distributed political power, racial equity, cares about animal rights, committed to climate goals, committed to social justice.
Open for Business (9.65%): cheap manufacturing costs, favorable tax environment, bureaucratic, corrupt, transparent government practices.
Cultural Influence (9.30%): culturally significant in terms of entertainment, fashionable, happy, has an influential culture, has strong consumer brands, modern, prestigious, trendy.
Adventure (5.62%): friendly, fun, good for tourism, pleasant climate, scenic, sexy.
Power (4.34%): a leader, economically influential, has strong exports, politically influential, strong international alliances, strong military.
Heritage (3.22%): culturally accessible, has a rich history, has great food, many cultural attractions, many geographic attractions.
What are the best countries in the world?
The 25 best countries in the world are:
- Switzerland
- Japan
- United States
- Canada
- Australia
- Sweden
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- New Zealand
- Denmark
- Norway
- France
- Netherlands
- Singapore
- Italy
- China
- United Arab Emirates
- South Korea
- Spain
- Finland
- Austria
- Iceland
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Qatar
For more information about the 2024 Best Countries rankings from U.S. News, click here.
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