Canada ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, education levels, gender equality, public services, public security and environmental sustainability. It ranks among the lowest of the most developed countries for housing affordability, healthcare services and foreign direct investment.
Note: Below each survey uses a limited number of countries/region's for its assessments, see "Measurement(s)" for number variables.
Organization | Survey | Rank | Value | Measurement(s)/Notes | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OECD | Tertiary education [1] [2] | 1 | - | Based on those 25- to 64-year-olds having completed tertiary education of G7 countries | 2022 |
Asher & Lyric | LGBTQ+ Danger Index [3] [4] | 1 | - | Measures the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, 2-spirit and intersex (LGBTQ2I) people in 203 countries. Note: Canada ranked second in the Gay Travel Index chart in 2023, [5] and sixth in the Equaldex Equality Index in 2023. [6] | 2023 |
U.S. News & World Report | Best Countries report [7] | 2 | 99.3/ 100 | Measures adventure, agility, cultural Influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, political and individual freedom, social purpose and quality of life in the 80 most developed countries | 2023 |
Anholt-Ipsos | Nation branding [8] | 3 | 70.32/ 100 | Measures national competence, governance, immigration and investment, people; exports, tourism and culture in the 50 most developed countries | 2022 |
Fund for Peace | Fragile States Index [9] | 3 | - | Measures risk and vulnerability of individuals of 179 countries | 2022 |
U.S. News & World Report | Agility [10] | 3 | 94.1/ 100 | Measures Individuals, businesses and governments adaptability to change in the 80 most developed countries | 2022 |
The Conference Board of Canada | Old-age standard of living [11] | 3 | Score of "A" - range A to D | Measures standard of living for the elderly in the 15 most developed countries. Note: "Poverty among the elderly in Canada is at 6.7 per cent, much lower than for children or the working-age population." | 2018 |
U.S. News & World Report | Best Countries for Education [12] | 4 | - | Measures quality of education in the 80 most developed countries | 2022 |
State of World Liberty Project | State of World Liberty Index [13] | 4 | Top 5% | Degree of economic and personal freedoms of 183 countries | 2021 |
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development | OECD Better Life Index [14] | 4 | - | Measures wellbeing, environmental quality, quality of public services and security of the 36 most developed countries: | 2020 |
International Comparisons (OECD) | Social justice [15] | 4 | 7.1 / 10 | Arithmetic average of individual indicators of a "Just society" of the 40 most developed countries: | 2020 |
U.S. News & World Report | Social Purpose [16] | 5 | - | Measures social progressiveness, inclusiveness and committed to social justice in the 80 most developed countries | 2022 |
The Economist | Democracy Index [17] | 5 | 9.24 / 10 (Full democracy) | Measures pluralism, civil liberties and political culture of 167 countries | 2020 |
United Nations | Good Country Index [15] | 6 | - | Measure how much each country contributes to the planet and to the human race, relative to its size (measured in GDP) of 125 countries | 2020 |
Social Progress Imperative | Social Progress Index [18] | 6 | 91.41/ 100 - Tier 1 of 6 | Measures well-being of a society of 132 countries | 2021 |
The Economist | Global Food Security Index [19] | 7 | 79.1/ 100 | Measures food affordability, availability, quality, safety, sustainability and adaptation of 109 countries | 2022 |
The Heritage Foundation | Index of Economic Freedom [20] | 9 | 77.9 / 100 | Based on the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets of 178 countries | 2021 |
Institute for Economics and Peace | Global Peace Index [21] | 11 | - | Measures overall peacefulness of 162 countries | 2023 |
Transparency International | Corruption Perceptions Index [22] | 11 | 77 / 100 | Based on public sector corruption of 175 countries & territories | 2021 |
Travel Safe - Abroad | Safest countries Index [23] | 12 | 88 / 100 | Measures public safety based on the number of incidents including mugging, drugs, violent crimes, bribery, property crimes, stolen vehicles, religion, and racial tolerance of 163 countries | 2022 |
Theglobaleconomy.com | Public services index [24] | 12 | - | Measures quality of public services of 177 countries | 2022 |
International Institute for Management Development | Most competitive economies [25] | 13 | - | Economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment and healthcare / education of the 67 most developed countries | 2019 |
Reporters Without Borders | Press Freedom Index [26] | 14 | - | Level of freedom available to journalists of 180 countries | 2021 |
World Economic Forum | Global Competitiveness Index [27] | 14 | 79.6 / 100 | Measures level of prosperity of citizens of 144 economies | 2019 |
Legatum | Prosperity Index [28] | 15 | 78.99/ 100 | Measures wealth, economic growth, education, health, personal well-being, and quality of life of 167 countries | 2021 |
UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network | World Happiness Report [29] | 15 | 6.9 / 10 | Based on (quality of) life factors of 156 countries | 2024 |
United Nations Development Programme | Human Development Index [30] | 15 | - | Based on life expectancy, education, and per capita income of 187 countries. Note: Norway has been ranked the highest sixteen times, Canada eight times, Japan and Iceland twice and Switzerland once. See Human Development Index#Past top countries | 2022 |
World Intellectual Property Organization | Global Innovation Index [31] | 15 | - | Measures success in innovation of 143 countries | 2021 |
World Population Foundation | Best Countries To Live [32] | 16 | 0.929 / 1.0 | Measures equality among genders, literacy, average life expectancy, and financial stability of 146 countries | 2022 |
Georgetown University | Women, Peace and Security Index [33] | 17 | 0.885/ 1.0 | Measures women’s well-being—inclusion (economic, social, political); justice (formal laws and informal discrimination); and security (at the family, community, and societal levels) | 2023 |
World Economic Forum | Global Gender Gap Report [34] | 19 | 0.772 /0-1 | Measures gender equality of 142 countries | 2020 |
Yale and Columbia Universities | Environmental Performance Index. [35] | 20 | 71/100 | Environmental performance of 178 countries | 2020 |
World Bank | Ease of doing business index [36] | 23 | 79.14 /100 Very Easy | Regulatory environment of 189 countries | 2021 |
The freedom indices produced by several non-governmental organizations publishes assessments of political rights and civil liberties for countries around the world. [37]
Index | Scale | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Freedom in the World | free | partly free | not free | ||||||||||||
Index of Economic Freedom | free | mostly free | moderately free | mostly unfree | repressed | ||||||||||
World Press Freedom Index | good | satisfactory | problematic | difficult | very serious | ||||||||||
The Economist Democracy Index | full democracy | flawed democracy | hybrid regime | — | authoritarian |
A developed country (or industrialized country) has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. [38] Note: Below each survey uses a limited number of countries for its assessment, see "Notes" for country number variables.
Organization | Survey | Rank | Notes | Measurement(s) | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OECD | Nominal house prices [39] | 1 | Most unaffordable housing of the 38 most developed countries | Comparing average home prices to average incomes. See also Lists of countries by GDP per capita | 2022 |
Rewheel | Most expensive wireless costs [40] | 1 | 4G and 5G prices of the 50 most developed countries | Measures wireless costs | 2021 |
OECD | Lowest amount of acute care beds [41] | 1 | Comparing the healthcare systems of the 9 most developed countries | Measures acute care beds per capita | 2021 |
International Energy Agency | Fuel-inefficient vehicles [42] | 1 | Ranked against the 53 most developed countries | Measures the fuel economy of private cars from 2005 to 2017 | 2019 |
Commonwealth Fund | Worst healthcare system [43] | 2 | Comparing the healthcare systems of the 11 most developed countries, Canada ranked 10th - second -to-last. | Measures access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes | 2021 |
University of Calgary | Worst corporate tax system [44] | 2 | Ranked against the 94 most developed countries | Measures openness to foreign direct investment | 2020 |
The economy of Canada is a highly developed mixed economy, with the world's tenth-largest economy as of 2023, and a nominal GDP of approximately US$2.117 trillion. Canada is one of the world's largest trading nations, with a highly globalized economy. In 2021, Canadian trade in goods and services reached $2.016 trillion. Canada's exports totalled over $637 billion, while its imported goods were worth over $631 billion, of which approximately $391 billion originated from the United States. In 2018, Canada had a trade deficit in goods of $22 billion and a trade deficit in services of $25 billion. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the tenth-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, listing over 1,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of over US$3 trillion.
The economy of the Czech Republic is a developed export-oriented social market economy based in services, manufacturing, and innovation that maintains a high-income welfare state and the European social model. The Czech Republic participates in the European Single Market as a member of the European Union, and is therefore a part of the economy of the European Union. It uses its own currency, the Czech koruna, instead of the euro. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Czech Republic ranks 16th in inequality-adjusted human development and 24th in World Bank Human Capital Index, ahead of countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom or France. It was described by The Guardian as "one of Europe's most flourishing economies".
The economy of Kazakhstan is the largest in Central Asia in both absolute and per capita terms. In 2021, Kazakhstan attracted more than US$370 billion of foreign investments since becoming an independent republic after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
The economy of Poland is an industrialised, mixed economy with a developed market that serves as the sixth-largest in the European Union by nominal GDP and fifth-largest by GDP (PPP). Poland boasts the extensive public services characteristic of most developed economies. Since 1988, Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalisation but retained an advanced public welfare system. This includes universal free public healthcare and education, extensive provisions of free public childcare, and parental leave. The country is considered by many to be a successful post-communist state. It is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank, ranking 20th worldwide in terms of GDP (PPP), 21st in terms of GDP (nominal), and 21st in the 2023 Economic Complexity Index.
A developed country, or high-income country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are the gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. Different definitions of developed countries are provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; moreover, HDI ranking is used to reflect the composite index of life expectancy, education, and income per capita. Another commonly used measure of a developed country is the threshold of GDP (PPP) per capita of at least US$22,000. In 2023, 40 countries fit all four criteria, while an additional 15 countries fit three out of four.
The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, economic management, work in general, financial transactions and trade of goods and services. In some contexts, the two terms are distinct: the "international" or "global economy" is measured separately and distinguished from national economies, while the "world economy" is simply an aggregate of the separate countries' measurements. Beyond the minimum standard concerning value in production, use and exchange, the definitions, representations, models and valuations of the world economy vary widely. It is inseparable from the geography and ecology of planet Earth.
The following are links to some international rankings of the United States.
The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation in 2006. Each country's HPI value is a function of its average subjective life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita. The exact function is a little more complex, but conceptually it approximates multiplying life satisfaction and life expectancy and dividing that by the ecological footprint. The index is weighted to give progressively higher scores to nations with lower ecological footprints.
The following are international rankings of Malaysia.
This is a list of New Zealand's international rankings on a range of social, economic and other criteria.
This is a list of key international rankings of Costa Rica
The Legatum Prosperity Index is an annual ranking developed by the Legatum Institute, an independent educational charity founded and part-funded by the private investment firm Legatum. The ranking is based on a variety of factors including wealth, economic growth, education, health, personal well-being, and quality of life.
This is a list of Australia's international rankings on a range of social, economic and other criteria.
The following is a list of international rankings of Belarus.
The following are international rankings of Israel:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.
The following are some international rankings of Norway.
The World Happiness Report is a publication that contains articles and rankings of national happiness, based on respondent ratings of their own lives, which the report also correlates with various life factors. As of March 2024, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world seventh times in a row.
North Korea ranks as the third least democratic country in the world in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, while The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal's Index of Economic Freedom places the country as the one with least economic freedom. According to the Press Freedom Index, North Korea has the least free press in the world.