Canada falls to 19th spot in annual best country rankings, one place behind the U.S.

Canada has fallen to 19th spot in the best country rankings published by U.S. News. Photo by EVA HAMBACH /AFP via Getty Images

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Having previously placed second in 2023 and fourth in 2024, Canada is one place behind the U.S., which ranked 18th this year. While this is quite a drop, it’s important to note that it’s partly due to a change in the way the rankings are developed.

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“Designed to help citizens, business leaders and policymakers understand how each country is serving its citizens,” says the publication, the rankings now evaluate countries based on more than economic output. So-called “operational health” is important too, says U.S. News. That encompasses everything from civic engagement to infrastructure and health care.

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Instead of relying primarily on perception surveys, the newly overhauled model evaluates countries by drawing on 100 statistical indicators. It draws on data provided by international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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The ranking showed mixed results across the eight categories that made up the rankings.

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Canada’s top ranking was in culture and tourism, and the country ranked highly in creative exports, intellectual property, tourist attractions and linguistic diversity.

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Regarding governance, Canada ranked 18. The country scored highly for its lack of political violence, having a strong passport, effective government, low corruption, and inflation, but low in government debt, debt servicing and tax revenue.

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Canada also ranked 18 in opportunity. That shows in top marks for our years of schooling, social protection, solid regulatory regime, and level of business creation, but low for corporate taxation, individual taxation, foreign direct investment and unemployment.

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Elsewhere, Canada placed 20 for infrastructure, getting top marks for cybersecurity, drinking water, electricity access and sanitation, but low for energy independence, grid access and road density.

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And the country fell to 27 for civic health, with low marks for the level of anxiety, the number of unsentenced prisoners, homicide and low voter turnout.

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But perhaps unsurprisingly, Canada received top marks for its universal health coverage: 100 out of 100. Canada ranked highly in disease detection and life expectancy, but ranked lower for accessibility to doctors and the availability of hospital beds.

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The United States was uneven in its performance, despite strong economic development and culture rankings. The U.S. struggled in areas such as health and infrastructure. For example, it ranked first in culture and tourism, but 15 in opportunity, 33 in health and 41 in civic health.

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Meanwhile, this year’s ranking showed strength from European nations. Switzerland came first overall, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. The first non-European country in the rankings was Australia, coming in at 14.

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