Naming one country as the absolute best in the world might sound like a bit of a sweeping statement, but this ranking, produced by US News, is based on some pretty thorough analysis.
The 100 countries assessed (which had to meet benchmark criteria such as a place in the top 125 of the Human Development Index and the same for its GDP) are put under the microscope for a shedload of factors, which broadly culminate in eight different categories.
They are: health, civic health, culture and tourism, economic development, governance, infrastructure, natural environment and opportunity.
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So, which country fared the best across this broad spectrum of analysis? Well, it was Switzerland, which had an overall score of 78.8. Governance was its strongest category, scoring a perfect 100 for regime turnover, political violence (or lack of) and inflation volatility, as well as a near perfect 99.8 for economic diversity.
It also ranked first overall in the ‘economic development’ category, plus second place for culture and tourism and opportunity.
Second place? That went to Denmark, which scored 77.2 overall and did particularly well in the civic health (ranking number one overall with 79.1) and infrastructure (scoring 86.2) categories. Third place went to Sweden, fourth to Germany, and fifth to the Netherlands. Noticing a pattern?
That’s right – the entire top 10 comprises European countries, with Australia being the first country outside the region to enter the ranks at number 14. You can view the full top 100 on the official website, but scroll on for the rest of the top 10.
The world’s 10 best countries for 2026
- Switzerland
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Norway
- United Kingdom
- Finland
- Luxembourg
- Austria
🌃 Oh, and these are the very best cities in the world, according to .
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