Switzerland has retained the top spot in the annual Best Countries rankings, 2023. This is the second year in a row, and the sixth time overall, where Switzerland has emerged as the best country in the world in the U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking.

Best countries as per the ranking

Canada, Sweden, Australia, and the United States also made it in the latest edition of the analysis, released Wednesday. Germany, which was at the second spot in the 2022 rankings, slipped to 7th in 2023, below Japan, while New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands took the top 10 spots.

European countries made up the majority of the top 25, holding 16 spots in the 2023. 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 only country from the Middle East to make the top 25 was the United Arab Emirates, while Asia was represented by Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea.

Ranking

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

Countries ranked the lowest

Cameroon, Algeria, Myanmar, Honduras, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Belarus, and Iran made the bottom 10 in the list of 87 countries that were assessed on a number of criteria.

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

India's position

With an overall score of 40.8, India, which was at the 31st position in the 2022 rankings, improved one spot to claim the 30th rank this time in 2023.

India's best performance came in the 'Movers' category, in which countries are ranked based on their future growth potential, including how prepared they are to weather challenges posed by the global economy. India was ranked 5th on this list below UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

In terms of culture and heritage, India was ranked 8th.

Among the most powerful countries, India was ranked 12th.

How are the countries ranked?

The annual ranking published by the U.S. News & World Report ranks countries based on various attributes grouped into 10 thematic sub-rankings that rolled into the Best Countries rankings: Adventure, Agility, Cultural Influence, Entrepreneurship, Heritage, Movers, Open for Business, Power, Quality of Life and Social Purpose. A total of 17,195 individuals from 36 countries in regions spanning the globe – the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East – were surveyed for the ranking, and the participants were given a random subset of countries and country attributes to consider.

The subrankings, their weights in calculating the overall rankings score and the country attributes factored into each sub-ranking are listed along with them. The country attribute scores are equally weighted within each subranking.

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 conducted 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 the benchmark criteria. El Salvador rejoined the list after missing out in 2022.

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