Thursday January 24, 2019
By Laura Hensley
For the fourth year in a row, Canada is ranked the top country to live in when it comes to quality of life.
According to the 2019 Best Countries Report, our northern nation took home the winning score based on our health care, public education, safety, solid job market and politically stable landscape.
Overall, Canada was ranked the third best country in the world after Switzerland, which was ranked number one, and Japan at number two.
The report also listed Canada as number two when it comes to citizenship, based on factors like human rights, the environment, gender equality and religious freedom.
Another category we ranked highly in? Best countries for women. Canada came third, just behind Sweden and Denmark, respectively.
The annual project, led by U.S. News & World Report, BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, evaluates “80 countries across a range of categories, from economic influence and military might to education and quality of life, to capture how nations are perceived on a global scale.”
While Canada fared well across several boards, the U.S. slid in a few categories.
The U.S. was ranked the eighth best country — the same spot as last year — but the study noted that “the world’s level of trust in the U.S. continues to decline” with the nation now ranking number 27 for “perceptions of trustworthiness.”
“Perceptions of the U.S. as a country that cares about human rights have also fallen,” researchers said in a statement.
Still, the U.S. came in first place when it came to the global ranking of perceived power, followed by Russia and China. Canada was rated number 12 in that category.