(20 January 2016) – U.S. News & World Report, in collaboration with BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, sought to answer the question of what makes a best country to produce the Best Countries rankings. Germany is viewed as the overall “best country”.
The survey sampled the perceptions of more than 16,000 people in four global regions. They were asked to associate 60 countries with specific attributes. An overall score was assigned to countries, based on how they were scored in the attributes. The countries were chosen on measures that included the United Nations’ Human Development Index, gross domestic product, tourism and total exports.
The responses were divided into eight broad topics and a further category called Movers, a research-based metric from BAV that is predictive of a country’s future GDP growth. The topics include Adventure, Citizenship, Entrepreneurship, Heritage, Influence, Movers, Open for business, Power and Quality of life.
Germany is viewed as the overall “best country.” The home to Europe’s largest economy is seen as the top country for encouraging entrepreneurship, and is highly regarded for providing global leadership and caring for its citizens. The United States, the world’s greatest military power and largest economy, ranks fourth, trailing not only Germany but Canada and the United Kingdom, as well.