World's most powerful countries revealed

Study evaluated 80 countries on criteria including citizenship, quality of life and cultural history


News Desk March 17, 2017
PHOTO: REUTERS

US News and World Report released its latest edition of 'Best Countries' study where they evaluated 80 countries on a wide range of criteria including citizenship, quality of life and cultural history.

Another major marker was 'power', which measured how economically and politically influential a country is.

The world's most popular countries

More than 21,000 business leaders, general citizens and informed elites were surveyed to discover how nations are perceived on a global scale.

The organisation has made clear that the "most powerful countries may not necessarily be the most well-liked, but they are the nations that consistently dominate news headlines, preoccupy policymakers and shape economic forecasts."

The US was perceived as the most powerful, followed closely by Russia and China. Other countries included Pakistan, Turkey, and Israel.

These are the top 23 'most powerful' countries in the world:

23. Qatar

PHOTO: AFP PHOTO: AFP

22. Spain

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

21. Netherlands

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20. Pakistan

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

19. Sweden

PHOTO: Tyler Durden via Creative Commons PHOTO: Tyler Durden used under Creative Commons

18. Italy

PICTURE Kosala Bandara used under Creative Commons PHOTO: Kosala Bandara used under Creative Commons

17. Australia

PHOTO: Pedro Szekely used under Creative Commons PHOTO: Pedro Szekely used under Creative Commons

16. India

PHOTO: Reuters PHOTO: REUTERS

15. Switzerland

PHOTO: thisisbossi used under Creative Commons PHOTO: thisisbossi used under Creative Commons

14. Iran

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

13. Turkey

PHOTO: AFP PHOTO: AFP

12. Canada

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

11. South Korea

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

10. United Arab Emirates

PHOTO: AFP PHOTO: AFP

9. Saudi Arabia

PHOTO: AFP PHOTO: AFP

8. Israel

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

7. Japan

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6. France

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5. Germany

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4. United Kingdom

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3. China

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

2. Russia

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

1. United States of America

PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

COMMENTS (6)

Muhammad A.Z. | 7 years ago | Reply Ignore my earlier comment, indeed in the power tab it states it states Pakistan is 20th. Not sure if that is a cause for celebration as overall Pakistan ranks 74.
Raghu | 7 years ago | Reply Has any one seen Qatar on the map? This list is very very wrong.
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