Defining the world’s most powerful countries is not always clear-cut and can be subjective. The most powerful nations are the ones that shape global economic patterns, preoccupy policymakers, and tend to have strong defense and military. Foreign policies of powerful countries are closely tracked and consistently dominate news headlines around the world.
U.S. News and World Report, in partnership with BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has devised a way to rank the world’s most powerful countries in its annual Best Countries rankings. The report surveyed over 20,000 people from four regions across the globe. Respondents were asked to associate 80 countries with five attributes: military alliances, international alliances, political influence, economic influence, and leadership.
The top 10 most powerful nations, according to the 2021 Best Countries report are:
- United States
- China
- Russia
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- Japan
- France
- South Korea
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
According to the 2020 survey (released in 2021), the United States is the world’s most powerful country. The United States has the world’s largest economy, with a GDP of $20.93 trillion in 2020 and the most massive military budget of $778 billion in 2020. The U.S. defense spending is higher than the next ten largest defense spenders (China, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, and Italy) combined.
China and Russia are the second and third most powerful countries, known for their military spending and vast physical expanse. China also has a large economy with a GDP of $14.3 trillion. Next on the list are Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France, all of which have large economies and distribute high amounts of international aid.
Although a few have switched places, nine of the top ten countries are returners from the previous year's list. The lone new entry is the United Arab Emirates, which arrives at #10 and nudges Israel down to #11. Honorable mentions for the world's most powerful countries are Canada, India, and Turkey.