The United States is often celebrated as the “land of the free,” where bravery is an enduring trait.
With its unmatched military prowess, cutting-edge technological advancements, and a robust spirit of entrepreneurship, the nation possesses numerous strengths.
However, as it approaches the milestone of its 250th year of independence, signs of aging are evident. In the latest rankings by US News & World Report, the United States secured the 18th spot among the world’s best countries, partly due to “notable weaknesses in critical aspects of national well-being.”
While the country achieved the top position in culture and tourism and claimed second place in economic development, it lagged significantly in other areas, ranking 33rd in health, 39th in infrastructure, and 41st in civic health.
According to US News, “Issues related to public health outcomes, social cohesion, and public safety particularly diminish the country’s overall ranking,” as highlighted in the report released on Thursday.
“In a framework that rewards balance across multiple dimensions, the United States’ combination of world-leading strengths and persistent structural gaps results in a ranking that is strong, but not top-tier.”
Health, civic health and infrastructure were given a total weight of 40.7% in the ratings, while culture and economic development represented 22.6%.
Governance, opportunity and natural environment rounded out the rest of the categories.
The US placed 17th in governance, 15th in opportunity and a whopping 72nd in natural environment. We were dinged for “high emissions and resource intensity.”
The health metric, meanwhile, takes into account life expectancy, mortality, longevity, healthcare and public health preparedness. The US life expectancy was 79 years old in 2024.
Public health preparedness was measured by vaccination rates, the ability to conduct medical research and the outcomes of past epidemics.
US News noted that large nations like the US, UK and Germany have “challenges of scale and complexity in pandemic response.”
The US recorded over 1.2 million deaths related to Covid-19.
The top countries for health are Iceland, Norway and Denmark, respectively. Iceland’s life expectancy was 83 years old in 2024.
The best country overall was determined to be Switzerland, followed by Denmark and Sweden.
US News praised Switzerland and Denmark’s “consistent performance across all eight categories” and Sweden’s high marks in governance (No. 4), opportunity (No. 3) and natural environment (No. 7).
In the 2024 rankings, the last calculated by US News, Switzerland earned the designation of best country, followed by Japan and the US.
There was no health category that year. The US placed 22nd in quality of life, though. That rating considered the countries’ public health systems.