We are well again!
Apparently, the United States is now the third best country in the world, its highest score ever in U.S. News & World Report's annual “Best Countries in the World” survey.
of RankingThe study, which began in 2016, was based on a global survey of 17,000 “global citizens” from 36 countries, the paper said.
The questions were asked across 10 different categories, including quality of life, cultural influence, power and agility.
In the first year of the survey, the Land of the Free was ranked 4th. Under the Trump administration, it plummeted to 8th place, but has gradually climbed back up the ranks, reaching bronze in 2024 behind first-place Switzerland and second-place Japan.
This year, the United States narrowly edged out Canada and Australia, which regularly top the best list, coming in at fourth and fifth place respectively.
The rankings were determined by calculating the entire list of averages, and in the case of “Home of The Brave,” it seems that getting first place in the agility and power categories determines a place near the top.
Within these categories, respondents gave full marks to leadership, international alliances and the country's dynamic character.
Meanwhile, the United States is perceived as having very low racial equality (15.6), low prices (6.8) and less appetizing food (29.9).
And apparently we're not sexy at all, scoring a dismal 13.2 on the physical attractiveness front.
But that doesn't stop people from wanting to visit the US: As a tourist destination, the US performed well with a score of 74.1.
“Despite being one of the world's greatest powers, the United States continues to face domestic challenges, including racial tensions, income inequality, and an increasingly polarized electorate,” the study's authors wrote.
“National security is a concern, as is war debt and spending on an aging population. The United States leads the developed world in gun deaths,” they continued.
Rounding out the top 10 are two Nordic countries, Sweden (6th) and Denmark (10th), as well as Germany (7th), the UK (8th) and New Zealand (9th).
At the bottom of the 89th ranking is perennially struggling Belarus, ranking behind Serbia (88th) and Lebanon (89th).
The ranking is a stark departure from a recent study of the most desirable countries to relocate to, which was compiled by analysing surveys from search engines around the world.
While the US didn't even make it into the top 10, Canada was the top country people wanted to emigrate to, followed by Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the UK.
