USNews & World Report is released every year. meaning About the best countries in the world. The best countries in the world for 2024 ranked a total of 89 countries: Hungary ranked 54th. Although the report is subjective in some ways, it is “not a beauty contest, but rather emphasizes the value of a strong global image” – Quote In his writings Business Insider David Ribstein, Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School in the United States.
To create the ranking, experts scored a total of ten categories: economic and social strength, entrepreneurship, trade openness, agility, social goals, quality of life, driving force or motivation, cultural influence, heritage and adventure. The maximum possible score for each category was 100 points. Within each category, additional aspects and factors were evaluated, and the ranking of the best countries was formed based on the total score.
What factors were considered within each category?
For example, when determining cultural influence, they looked at cultural relevance (in terms of entertainment), global influence, novelty, prestige, trends, fashion, happiness, and the presence of strong consumer brands. In terms of cultural influence, Hungary turned out to be the 55th “best.”
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Here are the front runners: There's a reason to look forward to them.
Denmark came in last in the top 10. Although in several categories – such as quality of life and social goals, including protecting human rights and providing gender and racial equality – it also came in first. But in the area of raising children, the Danes proved to be the best in 2024.
New Zealand is in ninth place, although it has proven to excel in achieving social goals and providing comfortable retirement years. The United Kingdom, which has remained an attractive place to live even after Brexit, is in eighth place: this is evidenced by the fact that it is ranked among the best in many of the categories examined, such as power or entrepreneurship.
Germany also ranked seventh in this year's survey: this is where the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes most, and it is the second best country for starting a career. On the other hand, it no longer offers exceptionally good conditions for pensioners, and in this respect it lags far behind the competition.
The sixth best country in the world is Sweden, which has fallen somewhat compared to last year: it was ranked third then. However, it is still at the forefront of environmental protection and, as we have written about before, according to the results of some surveys, it is the most ideal country in the world for women; but also exemplary in terms of quality of life and social goals.
The authors of the ranking put Australia in fifth place: however, it came in first place in the category of ensuring comfortable retirement years. Interestingly, Canada, which has alternated with Switzerland at the top since 2017, only became the fourth best country in the world in 2024, but it is among the best in terms of quality of life, social goals and mobility.
The US’s third place is an improvement from last year’s fifth place. The US has proven to be the world’s most agile and powerful country, the country with the best education system, and the second-best country in the world for entrepreneurship. However, its cultural influence lags behind that of Italy and France.
Japan came in second place in the ranking. It’s no coincidence: it came in first place in the business and career categories, as well as in investment and career building. Switzerland, on the other hand, tops the list and has been considered the best country in the world for years. It’s certainly in the lead in terms of career building and comfortable retirement, but it’s also enviable in terms of quality of life and openness to job opportunities.
So where are we?
Hungary came in 54th, which is hardly a bad result overall. (In 2023, it was 49th out of 87 countries ranked.) But surprisingly, India, which according to the UN has the largest number of poor people—nearly 230 million—is the 33rd best country in the world. Among our neighbors, Austria (21st), Croatia (47th) and the Czech Republic (50th) also rank ahead of us.
The report also provides a detailed description of each country: in addition to the most important data – population, capital, territory, GDP, GDP per capita and language used – we also get, for example, a historical overview. Among other things, we can learn about Hungary that “while Hungary, like many European countries, enjoys relative economic prosperity, it is linguistically isolated from its European counterparts.”
In summary It was accepted.according to which “Hungary’s tense relationship with some world leaders has been further strengthened in recent years, as the leadership has taken a firm anti-immigration stance and sought to centralize political and economic power,” and “the country’s political climate is volatile, in line with Europe’s growing populism and far-right movements.”
In addition, the authors also write that some “critics,” such as the United States, “have objected to corruption in the highest circles of the Hungarian government,” and “some human rights groups have accused Hungarian leaders of waging campaigns of vilification against civilian groups.” At the same time, they also note that Hungary leads the world in the number of Nobel laureates per capita, but many of them have lived and worked in Germany or abroad due to “lack of domestic funding.”
that particular force
One of the main categories in the report is economic and social power. The most important aspects examined here were whether the country in question was economically and politically influential, had strong exports, had a strong military and international allies. Based on all of this, Hungary ranked 59th with a score of 4.8 points.
