March 19, 2024

Switzerland is no longer the best country in the world

Switzerland is no longer the best country in the world

Switzerland used to rank first in the developed country rankings: beautiful, clean, safe and rich. But the same is true for other countries. Previously a winner in the World’s Most Liveable City category, Zurich was toppled from number 1 in Vienna years ago. And now Switzerland has even fallen behind medals in the nation’s ranking: in «Best Countries Report», Joint analysis by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, BAV Group and US News & World Report, Canada wins for the first time. The top ten looks like this:

  1. Canada
  2. Japan
  3. Germany
  4. Switzerland
  5. Australia
  6. United States of America
  7. New Zealand
  8. United kingdom
  9. Sweden
  10. Holland

A total of 78 countries were examined. Due to Covid-19, unlike in previous years when Switzerland was the winner, the categories of ‘social purpose’ and ‘Agility’ were added to the rating. There are a total of ten evaluation sub-criteria – Switzerland is in the top three in one category only, namely in “Open for Business”, where 1. Canada, as the overall winner, can win “Quality of Life” (Switzerland: 7th place) and ” Social purpose “(Switzerland: ninth place). In the “Heritage” category, Spain (Switzerland: 21st), won the UAE “Movers” category (Switzerland: 21st). Japan (Switzerland: 7th) won in “Entrepreneurship”, Brazil (Switzerland: 13th) in “Adventure”, the United States (Switzerland: 14th) in “Agility” and Italy (Switzerland: 8th). Finally, when it comes to “power”, the USA ranks first (Switzerland: 17th).

Agility is said to have had the most weight in the assessment, that is, a country’s ability to adapt to the challenges of Covid-19, to respond and progress. This explains why the USA ranks among the top ten, despite poor results in other areas, and why, on the contrary, Switzerland is no longer in the top three, despite the attractive average results. It might also be surprising that only one Scandinavian country made it to the top ten list, even though the Nordic countries are high in various categories.

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Note: One can discuss the methodology over and over again. The truth is that, despite all the criticism, the aforementioned countries manage to appear “worth living” in a global comparison. Whether you are ranked 1st, 4th or 10th is irrelevant. So let’s feel satisfied and grateful to be able to live in Switzerland even during the crisis.