Tens of the nations remained evaluated based on factors including political stability, business environment, and social purpose, reflecting global trends and public opinion.
Switzerland is at the top of the list by landing at No. 1 for the third year in a row and the seventh time overall. Japan jumped to second place, up from sixth last year. The United States, which has never taken the top spot, climbed to No. 3 for the first time since the ranking began in 2016.
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School marketing professor, David Reibstein, who helped create the survey-based rankings, said the changes are worth noting because it measures internal and external perceptions of nations. The US was fourth in 2016 and fell to a low point of eighth in 2018.
Among the list’s 10 sub-rankings, the US was No. 1 in both power and agility, and No. 2 for entrepreneurship. Yet it scored only 52 for “open for business.” America’s high labor and manufacturing costs, coupled with a challenging tax structure, likely contributed to the lower score, the professor said.
As per unique insights from 2,500+ contributors from 90+ countries; the year-2024 “Best Countries” ranking, compiled by Wharton marketing professor David Reibstein in collaboration with U.S. News & World Report, highlights the top nations based on global perceptions.
For Reibstein, tiny Luxembourg is one of the biggest surprises on the list. Landlocked between Belgium, France and Germany, it might be easy to miss the wealthiest country in the European Union. But companies certainly don’t. Luxembourg is rated No. 1 for “open for business,” with a perfect score of 100. It comes up almost every year as such. Luxembourg’s small size makes it less bureaucratic. It has a large banking and finance sector, and it’s known as a tax haven for multinational corporations.
Attitudes about generative artificial intelligence are markedly different across the globe, with Western countries feeling less optimistic than Eastern countries.
Overall, 65% of respondents agreed with the question, “Do the benefits of AI outweigh the risks?” But a breakdown of the answers reveals the geographic rift. The nation most supportive of AI is China, with 83.5% in agreement, followed by Vietnam, Kenya, Thailand, Egypt, India, Saudia Arabia, Indonesia and South Korea. At the other end of the spectrum is Denmark at 43% agreement, followed by Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden.
Western countries are grappling with a host of concerns over AI, while Eastern countries are moving faster to implement it. Even in the country like Vietnam-there is AI everywhere.
Cameroon, Algeria, Lebanon, Serbia and Belarus are the bottom five on the Best Countries list. However, there’s no need for low-scoring countries to despair. The list reflects perceptions, and perceptions can be changed.
If the perceptions are wrong, then it’s just a communications issue. But more often or not, the perceptions are not wrong. If those things are true about a country, then it is needed to clean up the acts.
For example, Saudi Arabia is poorly rated for “social purpose” attributes, including religious freedom and gender equality. The kingdom has been working to improve its record on women’s rights in recent years, allowing women to drive and work in certain jobs where they were once prohibited. This is because it’s the right thing to do, but most likely, it’s because it hurts the brand of Saudi Arabia.
There’s no doubt that marketing and branding can help shift perceptions. Qatar inched up the list to No. 25 this year that’s largely due to multibillion-dollar investments in building a new international airport in Doha and hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Similarly, the massive outreach of K-pop helped South Korea climb to No. 18 this year. It’s arguably the country’s most influential export. To create a global image, what leads to that is the identification of products and other things coming from a country are identifiable outside of that country.
Wharton marketing professor David Reibstein produces the Best Countries rankings in partnership with U.S. News & World Report and WPP, a global marketing and communications services company. The 2024 list measured perceptions about the nations chosen because they contribute most to the world’s GDP.
More than 17,000 people from 36 countries were asked to evaluate the countries based on 73 attributes ranging from political stability to racial equity to health consciousness. One-third of the survey respondents were business leaders; one-third were college-educated individuals who were middle class or higher; and, one-third were from the general population.
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Commencing teaching in his early twenties, Prof Aggarwal has diverse experience of great tenure in the top institutions not only as an educationist, administrator, editor, author but also promoting youth and its achievements through the nicest possible content framing. A revolutionary to the core, he is also keen to address the society around him for its betterment and growth on positive notes while imbibing the true team spirit the work force along with.
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