SINGAPORE: Singapore continues to shine on the world stage, making it to yet another global best-of list. In the U.S. News Best Countries rankings, Singapore placed 16th overall. Among Asian countries, the Little Red Dot placed second, and Japan ranked sixth. The only Asian country to break into the top 20 is China, in 20th place.
The list, which features 87 countries in total, takes into consideration quality of life, entrepreneurship, cultural influence, power, and openness to business, among other categories. Based on these, Singapore received an overall score of 81.9, with high marks for Agility (86.4) and Openness to business (81.8) but lower scores for Power (20.2) and Social purpose (22.6). In the Additional Rankings, however, Singapore shone in two particular areas: For “Invest In,” it ranked first, and for “Forward Thinking,” second.
Singapore is described in the report as “One of Asia’s four economic tigers (which) has seen impressive growth in recent years as efficient manufacturing and production practices have made way for free-market innovation in the booming electronics and pharmaceutical industries. Gross domestic product per capita is high and unemployment is low, making Singapore one of the wealthiest nations in the world.”
Interestingly, under the category of Heritage, the score for “has great food” was only 47.
The report also notes that while “safety and security serve as a major point of pride,” Singapore is “world-renowned for its strict laws and tight regulation” with high fines for transgressors.
Other areas of concern are “Space constraints coupled with rapid population growth contribute to concerns about the rising cost of living and income inequality. Conservation, land reclamation efforts and improved environment-friendly practices amid the urbanization and industrial pollution are also a focus.”
Switzerland, one of the richest countries in the world, took pole position on the list. The ranking cites Switzerland’s low unemployment, skilled labour force, high GDP, and low corporate tax rates as some of its outstanding features.
Canada, Sweden, Australia and the US, respectively, placed second to fifth on the rankings list. Japan, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands round out the top ten.
Aside from Japan and China, South Korea (ranked 21st), Thailand (ranked 29th), and India (ranked 30th) are the countries in Asia with good scores.
Other Southeast Asian countries fared on the list are Malaysia—38th, Indonesia—41st, the Philippines—43rd and Vietnam—44th. /TISG