According to the 9th edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Annual Best Countries Ranking 2024, India has slipped by 3 positions, from 30th spot (in 2023) to 33rd spot (in 2024) with overall score of 46.4.
- Switzerland has topped the Best countries rankings for 2024 with overall score of 100, for the 3rd consecutive year and for the 7th year since its inception.
- While, Japan has secured 2nd position in the latest rankings, followed by the United States of America (USA) and Canada ranked at 3rd and 4th position respectively.
About Best Countries Rankings 2024:
i.It is prepared in partnership with WPP, a global marketing and communications services company and the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, the USA.
ii.The rankings are based on a study that surveyed around 17,000 international citizens across 89 countries using 73 different attributes.
iii.These 73 different attributes are grouped into 10 thematic rankings which are: Adventure, Agility, Cultural Influence, Entrepreneurship, Heritage, Movers, Open for Business, Power, Quality of Life, and Social Purpose.
iv.Kuwait and Iceland were listed in the rankings for the first time after meeting benchmark criteria.
India-Specific Key Findings:
i.According to the report, India has an area of 3,287, 263 Square Kilometer (Sq. km), and a population of around 1.4 billion with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 3.55 trillion.
ii.Among the 10 sub-rankings of the report, India was featured among top 10 countries in only two sub-rankings i.e. in “Movers” category (7th ) and Heritage category (10th rank).
iii.India has again secured 12th position in “Power” category for the 2nd consecutive year with score of 45.1.
iv.While, India saw drop in its ranking in “Cultural Influence” category from 29th position (in 2023) to 34th position (in 2024).
Top 5 in Best Countries Rankings 2024:
| Rank | Country Name | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 100.0 |
| 2 | Japan | 96.6 |
| 3 | The USA | 94.2 |
| 4 | Canada | 94.1 |
| 5 | Australia | 92.1 |
| 33 | India | 46.4 |
Key Findings:
i.Switzerland was ranked in the top10 of many of the sub-rankings like: Open for Business category (2nd ), Quality of Life category (3rd ), Entrepreneurship (5th ), Social Purpose (7th ) and Cultural Influence (8th ).
ii.Japan has overall improved its ranking from 6th spot (in 2023) to 2nd spot (in 2024), with an overall score of 96.6.
- It has performed well in sub-rankings such as: Cultural Influence (5th), Entrepreneurship (3rd), Agility (8th), among others.
iii.The USA has moved up by 2 places in rankings i.e. from 5th position (in 2023) to 3rd (in 2024) with overall score of 94.2. It has secured 1st position in two of the sub-rankings, Agility and Power.
- While, Canada has dropped from 2nd spot (in 2023) to 4th spot (in 2024) rankings.
iv.Other top 10 countries: Australia (5th ), Sweden (6th ), Germany (7th ), the United Kingdom, UK (8th), New Zealand (9th) and Denmark (10th).
v.Belarus,Serbia and Lebanon were the top three Lowest-Ranked Countries in the World.
Region-Wise:
i.Among the top 25 countries in the rankings, 15 countries are from Europe region.
ii.Total 4 countries from East and South-East Asia region i.e. Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea, were featured among the Best 25 countries in the latest rankings.
- While, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)(17th ) and Qatar(25th rank) were the only two countries from the Middle-East region among the Best 25 countries in 2024 rankings.
About U.S. News & World Report:
Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Eric J. Gertler
Headquarters- Washington DC, United States of America(USA)
