Good Country Index Is Released, US Not In The Top 20 
 
 Trending News: How Good Of A Person Are You? Depends On Where You Live 
 
 Why Is This Important? 
 
 Because it may be time we all moved to Sweden. 
 
 Long Story Short 
 
 The latest edition of the Good Country Index has crowned Sweden as the world’s best country while the United States languishes down in 21st place. 
 
 Long Story 
 
 The United States of America may be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but it’s not even in the world’s top 20 countries, according to the latest version of the Good Country Index. 
 
 The index, which is created by British policy advisor Simon Anholt, uses 35 categories to rate a nation’s contribution to the world, including Culture, Science and Technology and International Peace and Security and ranks them from number 1 to 163. The data comes from sources such as the UN and The World Bank. 
 
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 The index’s mission statement reads: “We’re not making moral judgements about countries. What we mean by a Good Country is something much simpler: it’s a country that contributes to the greater good of humanity. A country that serves the interests of its own people, but without harming — and preferably by advancing — the interests of people in other countries too.” 
 
 Topping the Good Country index is Sweden, moving up from sixth last time, which excels in Health and Wellbeing and Prosperity and Equality. Its nearest rival was fellow Scandinavian country Denmark followed by the Netherlands, Great Britain and then Germany. 
 
 The USA may be a little disappointed with 21st place, below the likes of France (8th) and New Zealand (10th), plus local rivals Canada (7th) and slightly embarrassingly lower than Cyprus (15th) and Luxembourg (16th). 
 
 The US is somewhat harshly ranked 53rd in terms of cultural contribution and less surprisingly 66th for International Peace and Security while Health and Wellbeing is a decent 12th place. 
 
 The world’s four least good countries according to the index are all African nations: Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Central African Republic followed by Iraq in 159th out of 163. 
 
 Last year Ireland were top of the Index followed by Finland and Switzerland, but the report was mocked by many in Ireland who felt the result flattered their nation and many experts insist the data should be taken with a pinch of salt, but let’s face it we all love a list. 
 
 Surely whoever wins the US election should be hoping to climb the ladder a little. 
 
 Own The Conversation 
 
 Ask The Big Question: Is the USA really only the 21st best country in the world? Can we really create an accurate ratings system for countries? 
 
 Disrupt Your Feed: The US can have few complaints on International Peace and Security, but 53rd for global contribution to culture? What TV shows are these guys watching? 
 
 Drop This Fact: The World Happiness report for 2016 found that Denmark is the happiest nation followed by Switzerland and Iceland with Canada in sixth. The USA was 13th and the United Kingdom was 23rd. ||||| Just fill in your contact details in the form below to join our mailing list and keep up to date with the Good Country as it develops. ||||| The Good Country Index doesn’t measure what countries do at home. This isn't because we think these things are unimportant, of course, but because there are plenty of surveys that already measure them. What the Index does aim to do is to start a global discussion about how countries can balance their duty to their own citizens with their responsibility to the wider world, because this is essential for the future of humanity and the health of our planet. We hope that looking at these results will encourage you to take part in that discussion.
– Skal, Sweden! Raise a glass to the Scandinavian nation, which beat out 162 others to win the overall top spot in the "Good Country Index," a ranking of the world's countries, the Independent reports. The list is based on 35 various indicators from sources such as the World Bank and the UN, separated into the categories of culture, science and tech, prosperity and equality, world order, international peace and security, planet and climate, and health and well-being. The US just missed making the top 20, coming in at No. 21. And in last place—Libya. "A good country is one that successfully contributes to the good of humanity," British policy adviser Simon Anholt, who established the Good Country Index, tells the Independent. "Of course, it must serve the interests of its own people, but never at the expense of other populations or their natural resources: This is the new law of human survival." Here, the "goodest" 10 of the bunch: Sweden Denmark Netherlands United Kingdom Germany Finland Canada France Austria New Zealand (The entire list is here.)