U.S. News Best Countries
2024 Rankings
The overall ranking of Best Countries measure global performance on avariety of metrics. Switzerland is the best country in the world for 2024.
#1 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Switzerland, officially called the Swiss Confederation, is a small country in Central Europe made up of 16,000 square miles of glacier-carved Alps, lakes and valleys. It is one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and has been well-known for its neutrality.
$885 billionGDP
8.85 millionPopulation
$92,980GDP PC, PPP
#1 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Switzerland, officially called the Swiss Confederation, is a small country in Central Europe made up of 16,000 square miles of glacier-carved Alps, lakes and valleys. It is one of the world’s wealthiest countries, and has been well-known for its neutrality.
GDP
$885 billionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$92,980POPULATION
8.85 million
#2 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Japan, one of the world’s most literate and technically advanced nations, is an East Asian country made up of four main islands. While most of Japan is covered by mountains and heavily wooded areas, the country’s roughly 126 million people lead a distinctly urban lifestyle. Long culturally influenced by its neighbors, today the countryblends its ancient traditions with aspects of Western life.
$4.21 trillionGDP
125 millionPopulation
$50,207GDP PC, PPP
#2 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Japan, one of the world’s most literate and technically advanced nations, is an East Asian country made up of four main islands. While most of Japan is covered by mountains and heavily wooded areas, the country’s roughly 126 million people lead a distinctly urban lifestyle. Long culturally influenced by its neighbors, today the countryblends its ancient traditions with aspects of Western life.
GDP
$4.21 trillionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$50,207POPULATION
125 million
#3 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world’s most dominant economic and military power. Likewise, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television.
$27.4 trillionGDP
335 millionPopulation
$81,695GDP PC, PPP
#3 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world’s most dominant economic and military power. Likewise, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television.
GDP
$27.4 trillionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$81,695POPULATION
335 million
#4 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Canada takes up about two-fifths of the North American continent, making it the second-largest country in the world afterRussia. The country is sparsely populated, with most of its 35.5 million residents living within 125 miles of the U.S. border. Canada’s expansive wilderness to the north plays a large role in Canadian identity, as does the country’s reputation of welcoming immigrants.
$2.14 trillionGDP
40.1 millionPopulation
$61,582GDP PC, PPP
#4 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Canada takes up about two-fifths of the North American continent, making it the second-largest country in the world afterRussia. The country is sparsely populated, with most of its 35.5 million residents living within 125 miles of the U.S. border. Canada’s expansive wilderness to the north plays a large role in Canadian identity, as does the country’s reputation of welcoming immigrants.
GDP
$2.14 trillionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$61,582POPULATION
40.1 million
#5 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The Commonwealth of Australia occupies the Australian continent. The country also includes some islands, most notably Tasmania. Indigenous people occupied the land for at least 40,000 years before the first British settlements of the 18th century.
$1.72 trillionGDP
26.6 millionPopulation
$69,115GDP PC, PPP
#5 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The Commonwealth of Australia occupies the Australian continent. The country also includes some islands, most notably Tasmania. Indigenous people occupied the land for at least 40,000 years before the first British settlements of the 18th century.
GDP
$1.72 trillionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$69,115POPULATION
26.6 million
#6 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The Kingdom of Sweden, flanked by Norway to the west and the Baltic Sea to the east, expands across much of the Scandinavian Peninsula and is one of the largest countries in the European Union by land mass. Capital city Stockholm was claimed in the 16th century, and border disputes through the Middle Ages established the modern-day nation.
$593 billionGDP
10.5 millionPopulation
$70,207GDP PC, PPP
#6 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The Kingdom of Sweden, flanked by Norway to the west and the Baltic Sea to the east, expands across much of the Scandinavian Peninsula and is one of the largest countries in the European Union by land mass. Capital city Stockholm was claimed in the 16th century, and border disputes through the Middle Ages established the modern-day nation.
GDP
$593 billionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$70,207POPULATION
10.5 million
#7 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Germany, the most populous nation in the European Union, possesses one of the largest economies in the world and has seen its role in the international community grow steadily since reunification. The Central European country borders nine nations, and its landscape varies, from the northern plains that reach to the North and Baltic seas to the Bavarian Alps in the south.
$4.46 trillionGDP
84.5 millionPopulation
$69,338GDP PC, PPP
#7 inBest Countries OverallRead More »Germany, the most populous nation in the European Union, possesses one of the largest economies in the world and has seen its role in the international community grow steadily since reunification. The Central European country borders nine nations, and its landscape varies, from the northern plains that reach to the North and Baltic seas to the Bavarian Alps in the south.
GDP
$4.46 trillionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$69,338POPULATION
84.5 million
#8 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The United Kingdom is a highly developed nation that exerts considerable international economic, political, scientific and cultural influence. Located off the northwest corner of Europe, the country includes the island of Great Britain – which contains England, Scotland and Wales – and the northern portion of the island ofIreland. The country’s role on the global stage faces new questions as the nation withdrew from the European Union. , as well as thepolicies supporting the eurozone.
$3.34 trillionGDP
68.4 millionPopulation
$58,906GDP PC, PPP
#8 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The United Kingdom is a highly developed nation that exerts considerable international economic, political, scientific and cultural influence. Located off the northwest corner of Europe, the country includes the island of Great Britain – which contains England, Scotland and Wales – and the northern portion of the island ofIreland. The country’s role on the global stage faces new questions as the nation withdrew from the European Union. , as well as thepolicies supporting the eurozone.
GDP
$3.34 trillionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$58,906POPULATION
68.4 million
#9 inBest Countries OverallRead More »British and Polynesian influences course through picturesque New Zealand, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean southeast ofAustralia. Early Maori settlers ceded sovereignty to British invaders with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, and European settlers flooded in. Today, 70 percent of Kiwis, a common term for the people of New Zealand after a native flightless bird, are of European descent. A sense of pride has surged among the Maori, the country’s first settlers who now account for about 14 percent, as homeland grievances become more openly addressed.
$253 billionGDP
5.22 millionPopulation
$54,110GDP PC, PPP
#9 inBest Countries OverallRead More »British and Polynesian influences course through picturesque New Zealand, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean southeast ofAustralia. Early Maori settlers ceded sovereignty to British invaders with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, and European settlers flooded in. Today, 70 percent of Kiwis, a common term for the people of New Zealand after a native flightless bird, are of European descent. A sense of pride has surged among the Maori, the country’s first settlers who now account for about 14 percent, as homeland grievances become more openly addressed.
GDP
$253 billionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$54,110POPULATION
5.22 million
#10 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The Kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 10th century and includes two North Atlantic island nations, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Along with Sweden and Norway, it forms Scandinavia, a cultural region in Northern Europe.
$404 billionGDP
5.95 millionPopulation
$76,688GDP PC, PPP
#10 inBest Countries OverallRead More »The Kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 10th century and includes two North Atlantic island nations, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Along with Sweden and Norway, it forms Scandinavia, a cultural region in Northern Europe.
GDP
$404 billionGDP PER CAPITA, PPP
$76,688POPULATION
5.95 million
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