Canada has ranked number one overall according to the 2021 “Best Countries in the World” US News report. Canada also earned the top spot in “Quality of Life” and “Social Purpose.”
Canada has ranked highly since 2016 when it received second place in US News’ Best Countries reports. Canada also scored second in 2017 and 2018, then fell to third place in 2019, before climbing back up to second in 2020.
The study and model used to score and rank countries were developed by BAV Group, a unit of global marketing communications company VMLY&R and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
The report surveyed more than 17,000 people from across the world. Participants were given 76 qualities and asked how strongly they associated each one with a nation. This year, 78 countries were included in the rankings.
Canada also received the top ranking for two subcategories of the report. They were top ranked for Best Countries for Quality of Life and Best Countries for Social Purpose.
Canada received first place in the Quality of Life category due to respondents ranking the country first for having a good job market, second for being politically stable and third for having a well-developed public education system.
Canada has ranked first in the Quality of Life subcategory six years in a row.
US News also reported that survey participants view Canada as committed to social justice and human rights. They view Canada as having well-distributed political power for “Best Countries for Social Purpose.”
The list of countries rounding out the top 10 include:
- Canada
- Japan
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Australia
- United States
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
- Sweden
- Netherlands
More information about the survey methodology: Methodology: How the 2021 Best Countries Were Ranked | Best Countries | US News