Switzerland ranks first, South Korea 21st
The top 25 non-Western countries are Japan, Singapore, and China.
In a “best countries” ranking by a U.S. media outlet, Switzerland secured the top spot, the United States was in fifth place, and South Korea ranked 21st.
According to U.S. News & World Report, a survey was conducted among more than 17,000 people worldwide from March 17 to June 12. Based on this survey, rankings were compiled for 87 countries across the globe. This information was released on September 7 (local time).
The top 10 countries in the ranking include Switzerland first, followed by Canada, Sweden, Australia, the United States, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands respectively.
Western countries mostly occupied the top positions in the ranking. Apart from Japan, other non-Western countries that made it into the top 25 included Singapore (16th place) and China (20th place), with South Korea (21st place) following closely behind.
In the detailed evaluation criteria, South Korea performed well in cultural influence (7th place), business activity (7th place), innovation (10th place), and power (6th place). However, it ranked lower in adventure (54th place) and business environment (74th place).
Switzerland has consistently held the top spot since 2017. This year, it achieved high rankings in three key evaluation criteria with significant weight: business activity (6th place), quality of life (6th place), and social purpose (8th place).
The United States steadily climbed the rankings from 8th place in 2019 to 4th place in 2022 but dropped to 5th place this year. Despite the slight dip in its ranking, Richard Wike, Director of Global Attitudes Research at the Pew Research Center, noted that President Joe Biden had higher popularity and greater support for his policies compared to former President Donald Trump in nearly all the countries they surveyed. This suggests that people had more favorable opinions about the United States overall.
At the other end of the spectrum, Iran, which has conflicted with the United States, occupied the lowest ranking at 87th. The bottom of the ranking included countries such as Belarus (86th place), Lebanon (85th place), Kazakhstan (84th place), and Uzbekistan (83rd place).
U.S. News & World Report disclosed that the ranking compilation involved the participation of marketing communication company WPP and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
By. Koo Ha Na (hn9@wikitree.co.kr)
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