Canada beat out the US in world’s best country ranking

Which country was ranked first?

Canada was chosen as the second-best country in the world last year according to new research based on a variety of metrics. But what exactly set Canada apart from the United States? Let’s dive into the research.

The 8th year of the ranking

U.S. News & World Report and the global data consulting company Kantar Group have published their ranking of the world’s best countries for eight consecutive years, but their method of picking the winners was quite interesting.

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Defining the best countries

The ranking was based on “how global perceptions define countries in terms of several qualitative characteristics.” 73 total attributes were assessed and they were grouped into 10 overarching thematic sub-rankings.

Other attributes considered

Quality of life, agility, social purpose, movers, cultural influence, open for business, adventure, power, and heritage were all overarching attributes that composed the categories of sub-rankings, and when 73 attributes were complied and taken together, they created a country’s ranking.

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Analyzing global perceptions

It sounds complicated but what the attributes really measured were perceptions about a country, or rather what others believed about a country's economic and social success, as well as a host of other factors. However, therein lies the research's most difficult issue.

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How the researchers did it

How do researchers find the right people to question about which countries were the world's best? In the case of Kanter Group and U.S. News & World Report, the data was compiled by survyeing a group of 17,000 individuals from across several nations.

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Only 36 nations were surveyed

The research covered perceptions of people from 36 different nations in 2023, and the conclusions found that there was one country that stood ahead of the rest. There were also some countries you may have expected to see in the top ten that didn't make it.

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Not every country was included

It's important to note that only 87 nations were considered in the research for the world's best in 2023. So who made it into the top ten? And which nation did individuals from all over the world choose as the best country in 2023? Let's find out.

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10. The Netherlands

GDP: $991 billion

GDP Per Capita: $69,577

Population: 17.7 million

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9. United Kingdom

GDP: $3.07 trillion

GDP Per Capita: $54,603

Population: 67.0 million

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8. New Zealand