Happiness tops money: Switzerland and Canada best countries
A new U.S. based review does not put “America First”. A study by US News & World Report says Canada has the highest quality of life but Switzerland is the best country on earth.
America, came in 7th, but remains “the most powerful.
Switzerland earned its place at the top thanks to its progressive social systems, protection of human rights, and business-friendly environment.
Canada boasted-the-highest quality-of-life of any of the-countries meaning its economically and politically stablefamily friendly-and-has-well-developed-public-health-and-education-systems, both currently under scrutiny in the U.S.
The United Kingdom got third place on the podium.
Britain and Northern Ireland have fended off the shock of the EU referendum result to retain their high place in the ranking.
The UK was also named the fourth most powerful nation and was recognized for its cultural influence.
US News & World Report — notable for its influential US university rankings — evaluated 80 countries across a range of criteria, from economic influence to citizenship and quality of life.
By surveying more than 21,000 business leaders, informed elites, and general citizens, the aim of the “2017 Best Countries” report is to discover how nations are perceived on a global scale.
It’s the second year the in-depth study, has been published.
It was written in collaboration with Y&R’s BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Political turmoil throughout 2016 has taken its toll on the standing of several major world powers. The US slipped three places, while Germany – last year’s number one — fell to fourth place.
The media organization — notable for its influential US university rankings — evaluated 80 countries across a range of criteria, from economic influence to citizenship and quality of life.
By surveying more than 21,000 business leaders, informed elites, and general citizens, the aim of the “2017 Best Countries” report is to discover how nations are perceived on a global scale.
Editor and chief content officer Brian Kelly explained: “The Best Countries portal pairs fact-based metrics with storytelling to help citizens, business leaders and governments better evaluate their countries.”
The report found happiness is 72% correlated to gender equality in a country, but only 34% percent correlated to wealth, or gross domestic product per capita.
Other countries that came top in specific categories were:
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Terror attacks lowered Germany’s ranking Germany — Last year’s number one has fallen three places. Growing anxiety over an influx of refugees into the European nation and a series of terror attacks resulted in a weaker performance in 2017’s ranking. However, Germany was still named the best country for entrepreneurship.
- Sweden — Sweden was the highest ranking Nordic nation on the list. It was named the best country for women, for raising children, and for green living.
7 The United States remains the most powerful nation on Earth. But the country fell in several categories including best for business, citizenship, education, and transparency — Nearly 75% of respondents said they lost ‘some respect’ for US leadership after the presidential election.
- Norway — Norway is one of four countries in the top 15 led by women, and placed first in the citizenship rankings, meaning it has the most progressive social and environmental policies in the world.
- Finland — Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nordic countries occupy several places on the list. Finland scored highly across the majority of categories but topped the transparency leaderboard.
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New Zealand, best place to retire New Zealand — Often recognized for its stunning scenery, New Zealand was lauded for its religious freedom and gender equality. US News also called it the best country in the world to retire to.
- Italy — The resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in 2016 left Italy politically shaken. The instability meant the country fell three places in this year’s ranking but, according to the study, it still has more cultural influence than any other country and some of the richest traditions.
