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Newsweek has released their rankings of which country is the best in the world. The criteria was education, health, quality of life, economic dynamism and political enviroment. Here are the top 25 countries in order:
1. Finland
2. Switzerland
3. Sweden
4. Austrailia
5. Luxembourg
6. Norway
7. Canada
8. Netherlands
9. Japan
10. Denmark
11. United States of America
12. Germany
13. New Zealand
14. United Kingdom
15. South Korea
16. France
17. Ireland
18. Austria
19. Belgium
20. Singapore
21. Spain
22. Israel
23. Italy
24. Slovenia
25. Czech Republic
Also according to Newsweek, Finland is best in education with a 100% literacy rate and 17.1 average years of schooling. Japan was ranked #1 in health with an average life expectancy of 76 years, Norway had the best quality of life, Singapore had the best economic dynamism and Sweden had the best political enviroment.
There were a few surprises on this list for me. Where is your country ranked? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Poll: Is your country where you'd expect it to be on the Top 25?Met expectations (45) 43% Exceeded expectations (25) 24% Below expectations (18) 17% Not on Top 25 (9) 9% Way below expectations (7) 7% 104 total votes Your vote: Is your country where you'd expect it to be on the Top 25? (Vote): Exceeded expectations
(Vote): Met expectations
(Vote): Below expectations
(Vote): Way below expectations
(Vote): Not on Top 25
Edit: Keep in mind that this is a magazine publishing it's views on the "best" country. There is no best country, this is just a survey. This does not mean, by any circumstances, that Sweden is a better place to live than Italy. It is about personal preference.
 
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The subjectiveness is staggering. Finland and Sweden do kick ass though =)
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Australia ranked higher than US? wtf
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France here.
Probably deserved 16th place imo.
While the education is pretty good and I suppose health/quality of life as well, I think we lost a few ranks because of a terrible terrible political environment.
Not really surprising. ^^
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To: Spain
From: Netherlands
Haha, what now?
Imo, Canada would be at least #6 without Justin Bieber
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The US will drop further and further down the list as our economy falls apart and Obama turns us even more into a third world country.
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Good ol Canada, taking a moderate and unoffensive yet respecatble 7th.
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it's funny when lists like these are released and Americans who have pretty much no idea what's going on in the world are like "WTF why isn't America #1!!! we have the best healthcare, education and quality of life!!" ROFL... i'm actually surprised no one has posted something in this thread about why US isn't #1 yet..
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Link to the whole thing is here.
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This list is wrong. Iceland isn't in the top 100 on this list. I want them to explain how Kenya and Iran are better than Iceland. But Iceland is in top 10. But Iceland is in top 5 on the UN best countries list.
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Is there a full list? How much longer till we see African or South American countries?
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On August 19 2010 04:18 sykur wrote:
This list is wrong. Iceland isn't in the top 100 on this list. I want them to explain how Kenya and Iran are better than Iceland. But Iceland is in top 10. But Iceland is in top 5 on the UN best countries list.
LOL. Maybe we know something you dont....
![[image loading]](http://wacklepedia.tumblr.com/photo/1280/895306218/1/tumblr_l6jtumqq6B1qzcvww)
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On August 19 2010 04:18 sykur wrote:
This list is wrong. Iceland isn't in the top 100 on this list. I want them to explain how Kenya and Iran are better than Iceland. But Iceland is in top 10. But Iceland is in top 5 on the UN best countries list.
I kinda have the same question about Bahrain. Sure I doubt Bahrain should be near the top 25 but not being in the top 100? Ranked lower than certain developing nations?
But then again, I guess a country with less than 1.5 million people can't make a lot of noise in the world 
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On August 19 2010 04:17 stk01001 wrote:
it's funny when lists like these are released and Americans who have pretty much no idea what's going on in the world are like "WTF why isn't America #1!!! we have the best healthcare, education and quality of life!!" ROFL... i'm actually surprised no one has posted something in this thread about why US isn't #1 yet..
The educated ones know we're not number one...I'm actually surprised we're not lower in the ranks.
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I disagree with America being as low as it is. We still have the most influence of any country in the world.
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Oh Hong Kong doesn't count as it's own country any more.
I was going to complain about being lower than the USA but then I realised that I really don't care.
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Our dicks swing the lowest in the World. Clutch your shitrag as I smite you with my fat American dong, Finland!!
(and everyone knows Sweden has hotter girls so I don't even know how that makes sense)
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Biased ranking is biased, USA deserves a lower spot.
User was warned for this post
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17020 Posts
On August 19 2010 04:40 Bill Murray wrote:
I disagree with America being as low as it is. We still have the most influence of any country in the world.
That doesn't have to do with any of the categories. China probably has the second most influence of any country in the world, and it certainly doesn't belong anywhere close to the top 25 of that list.
Compared with some of the other countries on that list, I'm surprised America isn't further down. The American educational system at any level except the university level is horrid compared to other Western nations, especially in terms of math and science benchmarks. The American university system is the top of the world, though, but only in terms of research at major universities (such as the large public state schools and the renowned private ones). Many American universities are expensive day-care centers for children who don't need to be there.
The American health-care system is also quite backward compared to many of the countries listed. Americans spend the most per capita on healthcare out of any countries in that list, yet in many benchmarks such as life expectancy, obesity rates, diabetes rates, etc., is near the bottom. The American health-care system is extremely bloated, suffers from administrative nightmares, and is not efficient at all. Not to mention how unhealthy most Americans are.
Quality of life is great, I suppose, but only for segment of the population who are lucky enough to afford a decent quality of life. Social programs for the poor are very lacking compared to some Scandanavian/Western European countries, and if you're not lucky enough to have a stable job/income, your life pretty much sucks. I know it's the same for other countries, but not to the extent found in America.
However, the economic dynamism and political culture are great in America. An entrepreneurial spirit is encouraged, and both the economy and political process are quite open and corruption-free (compared to other countries, of course). I think this is where America truly shines; there's plenty of opportunity for social and economic advancement for those who are dedicated and hard-working enough to succeed.
Still, I would probably rate countries like Austria and Belgium over the United States.
As an aside, I'm really glad to be seeing Slovenia on that list. It's a really overlooked country, but it has a highly educated workforce and a very modern political/economic/social climate.
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EPT
