Best Countries 2023

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, on the other hand, are much more 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 85 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 2022):*

*For full rankings of every country in every major category grouping, see the table at page bottom.

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. 68 attributes 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	5.48%	Friendliness, fun, tourism appeal, climate, scenery, sexiness
Agility	13.96%	Adaptability, progressiveness, responsiveness
Cultural Influence	10.36%	Modernism, cultural significance of entertainment, fashionability, happiness, cultural influence, strength of consumer brands, prestige, trendiness
Entrepreneurship	14.17%	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	3.09%	Cultural accessibility, richness of history, cuisine quality, cultural attractions, geographical attractions
Movers	10.57%	Dynamism, difference, distinctiveness, uniqueness
Open for Business	9.35%	Manufacturing costs, favorability of tax environment, degree of bureaucracy, corruption, transparency of government practices
Power	5.02%	Global leadership, economic influence, strength of exports, political influence, strength of international alliances, strength of military
Quality of Life	14.52%	Strength of job market, affordability, economic stablity, family-friendliness, income equality, political stability, safety, development of public education system, development of public health system
Social Purpose	13.49%	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 best countries

Switzerland

A consistent top performer, Switzerland ranked #4 in 2021 and moved to #1 in 2022. Known for its historic neutrality even during World War II, Switzerland led the world in the Open for Business category in 2022 and also scored in the top ten in the categories of Cultural Influence (8th), Social Purpose (8th), Entrepreneurship (7th), and Quality of Life (4th). 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 country.

Germany

Third in the 2021 overall rankings and second in 2022, Germany posted top-ten scores in the categories of Entrepreneurship (1st), Agility (2nd), Power (4th), Quality of Life (7th), and Social Purpose (9). Germany commands one of the world's largest economies and is a leading importer and exporter. Germany's economy is populated by skilled workers and led by a service sector strong in telecommunications, health care, and tourism.

Canada

Canada took first place in the 2021 rankings and dropped only two spots in 2022. The second-largest country in the world in terms of total area, Canada is the only country among 2022's top five that did not achieve the #1 ranking in at least one of the ten categories. Nonetheless, Canada posted top-ten rankings in Agility (3rd), Entrepreneurship (8th), Open for Business (10th), Quality of Life (3rd), and Social Purpose (5th). 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.

United States

The fourth-best country of 2022 (and sixth-best of 2021) is the United States, which ranked first in both the Agility and Power categories, as well as second in Entrepreneurship and 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).

Sweden

Sweden (fifth place in 2022, ninth in 2021) ranked first in both Quality of Life and Social Purpose in 2022, and also ranked high in Open for Business (7th), Entrepreneurship (9th), and Agility (6th). Similar 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 to roughly 1% of the country's gross national product to aid programs each year.

Country	Overall 2022 Rank	Adventure Rank	Agility Rank	Cultural Influence Rank	Entrepreneurship Rank	Heritage Rank	Movers Rank	Open for Business Rank	Power Rank	Quality of Life Rank	Social Purpose Rank
Switzerland	1	14	16	8	7	24	26	1	20	4	8
Germany	2	42	2	9	1	21	44	23	4	7	13
Canada	3	17	3	15	8	28	63	10	12	3	5
United States	4	32	1	3	2	20	27	53	1	21	18
Sweden	5	19	6	13	9	38	46	7	22	1	1
Japan	6	28	4	4	3	9	8	39	8	14	23
Australia	7	8	5	10	14	19	29	16	16	9	9
United Kingdom	8	37	10	6	4	14	65	32	5	12	12
France	9	12	14	2	13	4	41	34	7	15	15
Denmark	10	29	7	21	10	45	53	6	27	2	3
New Zealand	11	6	8	20	20	25	17	9	35	10	7
Netherlands	12	13	9	17	11	26	60	11	24	8	6
Norway	13	22	17	22	17	36	47	5	34	5	2
Italy	14	2	21	1	21	1	25	41	15	19	19
Finland	15	23	20	28	16	46	55	3	47	6	4
Spain	16	3	12	5	23	3	30	28	19	18	17
China	17	59	11	11	5	13	6	51	2	25	73
Belgium	18	38	19	23	15	39	75	12	25	11	10
Singapore	19	20	15	18	12	29	10	8	26	23	26
South Korea	20	51	13	7	6	30	13	76	6	24	42
United Arab Emirates	21	55	18	14	18	53	1	57	9	26	61
Austria	22	21	24	26	19	15	82	17	37	13	11
Ireland	23	16	23	30	24	17	62	15	52	16	14
Luxembourg	24	41	27	32	22	56	57	4	43	17	16
Greece	25	4	29	12	33	2	11	36	41	28	22
Portugal	26	7	22	25	30	12	52	20	39	20	21
Brazil	27	1	26	16	38	11	9	67	21	47	35
Thailand	28	5	35	24	36	10	7	13	36	35	46
Qatar	29	64	25	29	25	82	3	70	23	30	81
Turkey	30	15	32	27	34	7	14	61	17	32	57
India	31	48	40	34	31	8	5	37	13	38	72
Poland	32	40	28	48	29	32	85	46	38	22	20
Mexico	33	9	36	19	41	5	21	58	29	39	40
Saudi Arabia	34	72	34	36	28	47	4	82	11	34	64
Egypt	35	27	50	31	45	6	2	69	31	54	55
Russia	36	66	31	35	27	37	16	85	3	48	59
Israel	37	74	30	42	26	34	15	81	10	44	53
Argentina	38	11	33	33	43	18	33	65	42	46	29
Malaysia	39	30	38	40	37	33	22	14	46	31	49
Costa Rica	40	10	43	37	62	43	18	19	70	56	43
Indonesia	41	34	44	45	42	27	28	21	32	36	47
South Africa	42	35	39	39	39	23	19	74	33	60	41
Morocco	43	24	56	38	59	16	12	31	54	52	70
Czech Republic	44	43	37	51	32	49	72	63	57	27	24
Croatia	45	26	41	43	44	41	67	48	78	29	27
Philippines	46	25	46	44	48	42	37	18	45	37	54
Vietnam	47	44	53	54	40	31	24	29	30	40	78
Hungary	48	49	51	55	35	40	81	55	74	33	25
Chile	49	36	45	50	57	35	45	42	53	53	39
Peru	50	33	62	46	75	22	34	33	68	58	45
Dominican Republic	51	18	60	41	73	55	36	49	67	62	50
Colombia	52	31	49	47	63	44	35	72	40	68	60
Panama	53	39	64	52	56	59	66	2	65	67	48
Romania	54	45	48	49	51	48	73	71	77	43	36
Sri Lanka	55	46	79	57	66	52	20	25	56	63	82
Estonia	56	63	54	70	46	71	76	24	85	42	28
Lithuania	57	68	42	84	54	75	61	45	83	50	32
Kenya	58	52	71	56	78	54	23	44	63	72	44
Slovakia	59	62	52	79	49	64	71	56	80	45	33
Bulgaria	60	56	59	67	52	60	80	54	79	41	37
Slovenia	61	58	61	78	53	67	83	27	82	49	31
Ukraine	62	69	47	62	47	70	78	78	14	82	34
Cambodia	63	61	78	64	70	57	32	38	59	57	75
Latvia	64	65	63	85	50	72	84	22	84	51	30
Uruguay	65	50	55	59	60	63	77	30	81	59	38
Jordan	66	60	65	58	65	50	31	64	50	70	74
Bahrain	67	78	57	53	55	85	38	59	60	61	84
Ecuador	68	47	58	66	79	58	59	40	64	69	56
Tunisia	69	53	76	61	69	51	69	43	69	64	65
Paraguay	70	54	69	63	80	65	70	26	76	66	52
Bangladesh	71	83	80	68	64	77	58	35	44	55	80
Ghana	72	77	74	69	83	73	43	52	66	65	58
Azerbaijan	73	73	66	80	71	74	40	66	58	80	67
Cameroon	74	71	70	65	74	80	49	50	71	75	68
Guatemala	75	57	81	72	84	62	54	47	73	77	62
Myanmar	76	76	84	74	77	76	39	62	49	74	83
Zambia	77	75	82	73	85	78	42	60	75	76	66
Oman	78	81	75	75	68	81	48	68	62	73	77
Lebanon	79	67	73	60	82	61	56	80	48	83	71
Algeria	80	79	72	77	72	69	68	75	61	81	63
Serbia	81	70	67	83	61	68	79	79	72	71	51
Kazakhstan	82	84	83	81	76	83	50	77	51	79	79
Iran	83	85	77	71	67	66	51	84	18	85	85
Uzbekistan	84	82	85	82	81	79	64	73	55	84	76
Belarus	85	80	68	76	58	84	74	83	28	78	69