Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
For the second year in a row and the sixth time overall, Switzerland has been ranked the best country in the world by U.S. News.
The Best Countries Report, now in its eighth year, is based on a proprietary survey of more than 17.000 people in 36 countries around the world, and evaluates 87 different countries’ performance across more than 73 attributes, collected under categories like entrepreneurship, quality of life, power and heritage.
This year, entrepreneurship was one of the most heavily weighted categories, with U.S. News executive editor Morgan Felchner explaining that “a nation’s economy, as well as its potential for success in key areas such as trade, travel and investment, hinges in part on how it is perceived globally.”
The alpine nation beat out the competition to claim the top spot for the second consecutive year. It is the sixth time overall that Switzerland has been crowned the best country in the world by this ranking, having held the number one spot between 2017 and 2020. Switzerland performed particularly well in the entrepreneurship, quality of life, open for business and social purpose categories, and was also praised for its education system and stability.
“Switzerland’s enduring success in the Best Countries rankings not only highlights its entrepreneurial strength, quality of life, and positive global image, but also underscores its transformation towards an economy deeply rooted in science and precision technology,” said David Roth, chairperson of WPP BAV, a company involved in compiling the ranking.
“What people love about us is our reliability and our predictability,” Jacques Pitteloud, the Swiss ambassador to the US, said, The Local reports.
Canada was named the second-best country in the world, while Sweden climbed two spots to round out the top three. Australia also rose in the rankings to take spot four, and the United States was named the fifth-best country in the world. New Zealand and the Netherlands also returned to the top 10 after dropping out in last year’s ranking.
Digging down into the subcategories, things look slightly different: when it comes to quality of life, Sweden took the top spot. In the category “adventure”, Brazil was named number one. The “movers” category was won by the United Arab Emirates, while the United States was named the “most powerful” country in the world. New Zealand took the crown for “racial equality” and Sweden was named the top country for “green living”.
The top 10 best countries in the world, according to the 2023 U.S. News ranking, are as follows:
For the full ranking, visit the U.S. News website.