When living in a city like Singapore, we naturally expect standards that are higher than average. From being considered the happiest country in Asia for the second time in a row to having the best airport in the world for shopping, it’s clear that we’re used to seeing Singapore high up on the leaderboard.
According to a report on the world’s best countries by the US News & World Report and Wharton School, Singapore ranks 14th out of 89 countries in the survey, moving up two rankings from sixteenth place in 2023. That’s pretty respectable – and we can thank our high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and low unemployment rate for it. Other Asian countries include China (#16) and South Korea (#17). Unsurprisingly, Switzerland takes the top spot for the third consecutive year.
The analysis, now in its ninth year, ranks countries based on 73 different attributes, which are further sub-grouped into 10 categories, including heritage, quality of life, social purpose, adventure, and cultural influence. Interestingly, the sub-category of ‘movers’, which considers a country’s future growth, is the heaviest-weighted factor for 2024. Singapore scored 72.9 out of 100, leaving us at number 11 overall. Unfortunately, our lowest rank is in the heritage category (#34). So although Singapore’s hawker culture is part of UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage, we might be modernising too quickly, which explains why we ranked highest for our agility and progressiveness (#6). On the flip side, we can thank our low rates of corruption for securing our high position in openness to business (#6).
And in case you’re wondering, the only Asian country that made the top 10 is Japan, coming in at number two on the list. If you want to see how it got its ranking, make the land of the rising sun your next holiday destination and check out Japanese budget airline Peach, which recently launched new direct Singapore-Osaka flights from just $164.
Here are the top 15 best countries overall:
1. Switzerland
2. Japan
3. United States
4. Canada
5. Australia
6. Sweden
7. Germany
8. United Kingdom
9. New Zealand
10. Denmark
11. Norway
12. France
13. Netherlands
14. Singapore
15. Italy
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