Canada dropped in the world’s best countries list. Here’s what the data says

Canada and U.S. flags fly in the wind at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing, in Surrey, B.C., on Monday, March 16, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Canada has dropped to 19th on a new best countries ranking list, one position behind the U.S.

The results, U.S. News Best Countries ranking, appears dramatic when compared with Canada’s previous placements – fourth in 2024 and second in 2023 – but the rankings themselves have changed significantly, according to U.S. News.

Rather than relying primarily on perception surveys, the new model evaluates countries using 100 statistical indicators grouped into eight broader categories to evaluate 100 countries.

The measures draw on data provided by international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“There’s been a lot of significant movement compared to past years and we would certainly encourage people not to compare them,” U.S. News & World Report managing editor Eric Litke said in a Zoom interview with CTVNews.ca Tuesday.

Litke says Canada’s shift should not be viewed as a decline. “We built the methodology from the ground up this year.”

Litke described the shift as moving from “reputation to reality.”

“The idea is to give stakeholders across the board the ability to see where countries are actually at - essentially creating a national progress report,” he said.

The results reveal where Canada continues to perform well and where the nation needs to fill the cracks.

Canada strongest in culture and tourism

Canada’s highest ranking came in culture and tourism, where it placed eighth globally. The category examines factors such as creative influence, heritage, tourism appeal, and linguistic diversity.

Litke said Canada and the U.S. shares similarities in this area because of their international presence.

“In both cases we have countries that have significant international influence,” he said.

According to the U.S. News’ country profile on Canada, the country’s multicultural framework, first adopted in 1971, continues to shape Canada’s identity and immigration approach.

Recent reporting around federal immigration adjustments has highlighted efforts to tighten immigration rules and accept fewer new residents, students and temporary workers in 2026. According to the federal government, these measures are meant to reduce Canada’s unemployment rate, address housing affordability and ease pressures on public services like health care.

According to Litke, Canada’s results show a country with broad strengths rather than one dominant characteristic.

Canada gets credit for stability

Canada ranked 18^th in governance, one of the most heavily weighted categories in the new methodology. Governance measures factors linked to institutional effectiveness and national stability.

In this category, public trust in institutions intersect with issues that affect everyday life from housing and health care access to public services and economic confidence.

Meanwhile, the U.S., which finished one spot ahead of Canada overall, performed unevenly across categories despite strong economic development and culture rankings. The U.S. struggled in areas such as health and infrastructure. Here’s how the U.S. ranked:

• No. 1 in culture and tourism
• No. 2 in economic development
• No. 15 in opportunity
• No. 17 in governance
• No. 33 in health
• No. 39 in infrastructure
• No. 41 in civic health
• No. 72 in natural environment

Opportunity and economic development

Canada placed 18^th in opportunity and 21^st in economic development.

These categories spotlight Canadians facing persistent affordability concerns. While Canada maintained relatively balanced results across multiple categories, it did not place among the top tier in areas connected to economic performance.

Recent housing outlooks suggest affordability challenges continue extending beyond major cities like Toronto and Vancouver into places once considered accessible including Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

Housing forecasts also suggest slower construction activity and weaker market demand may continue in some regions despite persistent affordability pressures.

Infrastructure and health

Canada placed 20^th in infrastructure and 27^th in health. It also landed at 27th in the civic health ranking.

For Canadians, these categories touch some of the country’s most visible domestic debates – health care access, transit systems, population growth and the capacity of public services.

Litke said a category looked beyond whether health care coverage exists.

“In health, for example, we’re looking at not only coverage and cost, but also access and availability,” he said.

Canada scored particularly stronger in some measures.

“Universal health coverage got 100 out of 100,” Litke said. “It was 90 or higher in life expectancy.”

But other indicators lowered the overall score, including hospital beds per capita and physicians per capita.

“There are spots where access can be a struggle but the outcomes are very solid,” Litke said.

Environment result may raise eyebrows

Canada’s weakest category was natural environment, where it ranked 63^rd globally. The category measures efforts tied to protecting natural resources and environmental conditions such as air quality and biodiversity.

Litke said the category extends beyond scenic landscapes or natural resources alone.

“Canada rates very highly, for example, for air quality or light pollution but much lower for species richness,” he said.

The category also includes factors such as carbon emissions, urban green space and sustainable trade.

“We try to take a holistic view of natural environment,” Litke said. “It’s not only what are the natural resources in terms of land and water but what types of protections are in place.”

Litke emphasized the rankings take into account measurable indicators rather than perception – meaning a country’s reputation no longer translates into a stronger score.

‘Europe-heavy’

“Our ranking was overall pretty Europe-heavy,” Litke said with Switzerland placing first, Sweden ranking third and Norway at sixth overall.

According to Litke, those countries tended to perform consistently across multiple categories rather than relying on one or two exceptionally high scores.

The broader message, he said, is that the rankings are designed less as a popularity contest and more of a data snapshot.

“Go digging,” Litke said. “If you’re interested in a certain country and governance or health, go see at the individual data set level how those countries scored.”

Here are the top 20 best countries, according to U.S. News:

1. Switzerland
2. Denmark
3. Sweden
4. Germany
5. Netherlands
6. Norway
7. United Kingdom
8. Finland
9. Luxembourg
10. Austria
11. Belgium
12. France
13. Ireland
14. Australia
15. Iceland
16. Singapore
17. Japan
18. United States
19. Canada
20. South Korea