According to the US country rankings for 2024, Canada ranks as the fourth best nation in the world. The nation achieves an overall indexed score of 94.1. 

Notable performances around scoring factors for quality of life, entrepreneurship, and agility helped contribute to the nation’s strong ranking. 

This year, Switzerland took the top spot with an overall indexed score of 100. So, the top ten nations for this year’s rankings and their indexed scores are presented below: 

Nations 2024 Ranking Indexed Score
Switzerland 1100.00
Japan 296.6
The United States Of America 394.2
Canada 494.1
Australia 592.9
Sweden 691.7
Germany 790.6
The United Kingdom 887.9
New Zealand 986.0
Denmark 1085.2

Canada has placed in the US News’ top five best nations for the last four years. Last year, Canada placed second in the overall country rankings. Despite the continued strong performance, Canada’s ranking drop was largely attributable to dips in ‘open for business’, ‘heritage’, and ‘entrepreneurship’ scores; while strong performances increase in ‘movers’, ‘social purpose’, and ‘adventure’ scores helped the nation remain among the top five ranked overall. 

How Does US News Rank Nations? 

Canada ranks as the fourth best nation in the world. Moreover, the US News Rankings assess 73 attributes of each country, based on a collection of survey responses of ‘engaged citizens’. These attributes were then grouped along ten themes: 

  • Movers:

It considers to what extent a nation is viewed as different, dynamic, and unique by survey respondents. 

  • Quality Of Life:

Quality of life incorporates affordability, job market, economic stability, family friendliness, income equality, safety, political stability, education system performance, and health system performance scores.

  • Entrepreneurship: 

It incorporates connectedness to the rest of the world, educated and skilled labor force population scores, access to entrepreneurial opportunities, opportunities for innovation, ease of access to capital, presence of technological expertise, implementation of transparent business practices, development of digital and traditional infrastructure, and development of legal frameworks. 

  • Agility:

Agility considers the extent to which survey respondents view a nation as adaptable, dynamic, modern, progressive, and responsive. 

  • Social Purpose:

Social purpose incorporates the extent to which a nation cares about human rights, animal rights, environmental issues, gender equality, religious freedom, property rights, and social justice—as well as the presence of trustworthy institutions, well-distributed political power, and racial equity. 

  • Open For Business: 

It considers the extent to which a nation is bureaucratic and corrupt, features cheap manufacturing costs, a favorable tax environment, and transparent government practices in relation to established businesses opening a branch or office in the nation. 

  • Cultural influence:

It incorporates considerations around the global cultural significance of a nation’s entertainment and culture, in addition to the extent to which a nation is viewed as fashionable, modern, trendy, prestigious, and having strong consumer brands. 

  • Adventure: 

Adventure considers the extent to which a nation is viewed as friendly, fun, good for tourism, scenic, and has a pleasant climate. 

  • Power: 

It considers the extent to which a nation is viewed as a leader on the world stage, economically and politically influential, and having strong military and international partnerships. 

  • Heritage: 

It considers the extent to which a nation is viewed as culturally accessible, having a rich history, great food, and cultural and geographical attractions. 

How Does Canada Rank Along These Factors? 

Canada ranks as the fourth best nation in the world. The table below breaks down Canada’s composite scores along with the themes highlighted in the previous section. 

Ranking Theme Score Ranking 
Adventure 57.5#16
Agility 89.2#2
Cultural influence 52.6#16
Entrepreneurship 81.9#6
Heritage 41.1#30
Movers 27.2#43
Open For Business79.8#15
Power 41.2#13
Quality Of Life 94.2#5
Social Purpose 97.8#3

In addition, Canada ranks well on many other rankings, as determined by US News. The nation ranked: 

  • 2nd overall among the best countries to headquarter a corporation 
  • 4th overall among nations with the best education systems
  • 5th overall among countries with the most racial equity
  • 5th overall among nations with the most perceived transparency 
  • 6th overall among countries where people could have a comfortable retirement 
  • 6th overall among the best nations to raise a child

For these rankings, Canada was the only nation outside of Europe and Australasia to be featured on the list. 

If you seek information on how to begin your Canada immigration application process, you can talk to our NavaImmigration experts at 1800-918-8490. You can also drop us an email at [email protected].