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TAKE THE QUIZ: FIND THE BEST COUNTRY FOR YOU »

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Find the Best Country for You

1. Switzerland Is World's Best Country
2. Best Countries
3. News
4. Home

SWITZERLAND IS NO. 1 IN 2023 U.S. NEWS BEST COUNTRIES RANKINGS

The nation retained its top ranking while the United States slipped for the
first time in five years.

By Julia Haines
|
Sept. 6, 2023
|
By Julia Haines
|
Sept. 6, 2023, at 12:01 a.m.
|
Save
More

Switzerland Is World's Best Country

People walk next to the Grossmunster church in Zurich. Switzerland has ranked
No. 1 six times in the the eight years of U.S. News' Best Countries
rankings.(FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Switzerland has retained its top spot in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best
Countries rankings, marking the second year in a row and the sixth time overall
the central European nation has placed No. 1. The small, landlocked country is
followed by Canada (No. 2), Sweden (No. 3), Australia (No. 4) and the United
States (No. 5) – which is down a spot from 2022 – in the latest edition of the
analysis, released Wednesday.

European countries made up the majority of the top 25, holding 16 spots in the
2023 rankings. Germany saw the largest fall among these leading nations, down
five spots since 2022, while Australia and New Zealand saw the largest
increases, both up three spots year over year.

THE 25 BEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

View All 29 Slides

The only country in the Middle East to make the top 25 was the United Arab
Emirates, while Asia was represented by Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea.

These Are the 10 Best Countries in the World, According to U.S. News & World
Report:

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

The Best Countries rankings and analysis from U.S. News are formed in
partnership with global marketing communications company WPP and the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania. The project is based on a global
survey in which more than 17,000 people across 36 nations associated various
countries with specific attributes, ranging from “dynamic,” “safe” and “a
leader” to “cares about human rights,” “economically stable” and “committed to
social justice.” The survey this year contained 73 attributes in total and
encompassed 87 countries. Cyprus, Honduras and Zimbabwe were included in the
rankings for the first time in the project’s history after meeting benchmark
criteria. El Salvador rejoined the list after dropping off in 2022.

As part of the rankings package, U.S. News and its partners explored
Switzerland’s enduring popularity, shifting perceptions of New Zealand and
Australia, America’s brand power and global opinions about countries that pose a
global threat.

Switzerland has ranked No. 1 nearly every year since 2017. This year, the
country landed in the top 25 for each of the 10 subrankings that inform the
overall Best Countries rankings, and in the top 10 for half of them. This
includes notable performances in three of the heaviest-weighted subrankings:
entrepreneurship (No. 6), quality of life (No. 6) and social purpose (No. 8).
Switzerland also rated highly for cultural influence (No. 8), and topped the
list at No. 1 in the open for business subranking.

The U.S. moved down a spot in the rankings, landing at No. 5 after steadily
climbing from No. 8 to No. 4 between 2019 and 2022. The United States was at or
near the top in several subrankings, coming in at No. 1 for entrepreneurship,
power and agility, and No. 3 for cultural influence.

Despite the slight dip, Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at
the Pew Research Center – which conducts its own surveys to capture global
perceptions – says the United States is still benefiting from a boost tied to
the 2020 election of President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump.

“Biden is more popular than Trump in nearly all of the countries we survey, and
there’s been more support for his policies,” Wike says. “As a result, people are
more likely now to say they have a favorable opinion of the U.S. overall.”

The top half of the overall Best Countries list was relatively stable year over
year. With the exception of Germany (-5), South Africa (-4) and the Czech
Republic (-4), all countries in the top 50 stayed within three spots of their
2022 rankings.

More notable shifts occurred for some countries further down the list, with many
in the Middle East climbing up the ranks. Oman, for example, rose 13 spots year
over year to reach No. 65 – the largest increase of any country between 2022 and
2023. Between 2019 and 2022, Oman fell 15 spots, making its steep climb back up
a notable reversal.

Oman, which has a reputation for diplomacy and neutrality, has long acted as a
regional mediator and was recently described as a “discreet architect of peace
in the Middle East” by French newspaper Le Monde. Many have called the country
“the Switzerland of the Middle East,” says David Roberts, an associate professor
at King's College London with expertise in the Gulf monarchies.

“Oman has long cultivated its reputation as a neutral state,” Roberts says.
“It’s quite mild-mannered. It doesn’t want to cause trouble."

Bahrain, another monarchy in the Persian Gulf, saw the second-largest increase
between 2022 and 2023, up nine spots year over year. Outside of its strong
standing in finance, Roberts notes Bahrain also has significant soft power when
it comes to sports, hosting the annual Formula One Grand Prix auto race.

South America also saw some notable shifts, with Colombia (No. 60) dipping eight
spots, and Uruguay (No. 57) climbing eight spots. Africa and Asia both remained
relatively stable in the rankings, with no countries on those continents
shifting more than four spots year over year. However, Myanmar – plagued by acts
of genocide and other violence in recent years – has moved more than any other
country since 2021, declining 22 spots in just two years.

Several European countries had noticeable year-over-year declines. Latvia saw
the most noticeable drop, down eight spots to No. 72. Denmark and France both
fell three spots, leaving the top 10. Germany slipped from No. 2 to No. 7.

After Ukraine’s move up nine positions in 2022, it moved back down six positions
in 2023, landing at No. 68. Three of Ukraine’s regional allies – Lithuania,
Poland and Romania – also saw their rankings fall year over year, though all
three countries still sit higher than they did prior to Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.

For its part, Russia continued its drop in the rankings, slipping one spot to
No. 37 after seeing one of the largest drops (-12) in the project’s history last
year. Three of Russia’s allies – Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – saw their
rankings fall significantly between 2021 and 2022 and have not notably
recovered, as they remain in the bottom five of the nearly 90 countries ranked.

These Are the 10 Lowest-Ranked Countries in the World, According to U.S. News &
World Report:

78. Cameroon

79. Algeria

80. Myanmar

81. Honduras

82. Serbia

83. Uzbekistan

84. Kazakhstan

85. Lebanon

86. Belarus

87. Iran

To learn more about how the 2023 Best Countries rankings were formed, read our
methodology.

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