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These are the 10 best countries in the world for business, social purpose and more—the U.S. isn't in the top 3

This week, U.S. News and World Report released its ranking of the best countries in the world.

To rank the 87 countries listed, U.S. News and World Report, global marketing and communications services WPP and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania surveyed more than 17,000 people worldwide.

The countries were scored across the following metrics:

• Cultural Influence
• Entrepreneurship
• Open for Business
• Quality of Life
• Social Purpose

Though the United States didn't even rank in the top three, the country did land the No. 5 spot, down from No. 4 in 2022.

The best country in the world: Switzerland

For the second year in a row, Switzerland is the best country in the world, according to the U.S News and World report. It was also the No. 1 country from 2017 to 2020 until Canada's win in 2021.

Switzerland is one of the world's most developed countries and has one of the highest levels of per capita GDP in the world, according to the country's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs .

Switzerland is home to cities that rank among the highest for quality of life , including Zürich, Geneva and Basel, according to a 2019 report from Deutsche Bank.

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Though residents have high in quality of life, Switzerland is also one of the countries with the highest cost of living. On average, it is 56.5% higher than in the United States, according to Numbeo . Renting in Switzerland is also, on average, 6.5%   higher than in the U.S.

The 10 best countries in the world

• Switzerland
• United States
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• Netherlands

Canada is the No. 2 best country in the world.

The country has a GDP of $2.14 trillion and is the second-largest country by total area after Russia.

In terms of cost of living, Canada is, on average, 11.2% lower than the United States, and renting in the country is 30.4% lower than in the U.S., according to Numbeo .

Canada also ranked as the third best country for quality of life, according to U.S. News and World Report . The country is known for its affordability, access to education and healthcare system.

Sweden rounds out the top three. The country is best known for its free healthcare and college education programs, according to U.S. News and World Report .

Sweden's people boast one of the longest life expectancies, with the average age being 82.8 years, according to the CIA World Factbook . They are also known for being some of the world's most generous, donating about one percent of the gross national product to humanitarian aid programs annually.

Sweden has one of the world's highest GDP per capita and ranks highly in terms of quality of life, health, education, income equality, gender equality and prosperity.

For example, Sweden has one of the best parental leave policies in the world. Parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave when a child is born or adopted. Should there be two, each parent is entitled to 240 of those days.

According to Numbeo , the cost of living in Sweden is, on average, 20.9%   lower than in the United States, while renting is, on average, 57.5%   lower.

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