Ranking the 'World's Best Countries': America Comes in 4th

FOX News - A new list of the world’s “best countries” has left many Americans baffled with the USA’s fourth-place ranking. According to the U.S. News & World Report, America came in at no. 4 after Germany, Canada and the U.K. respectively. But why?

U.S. News explained its methodology, saying that it scored each of the 60 included countries based on 65 different attributes identified by thousands of survey participants.

Germany claimed top spot for having “one of the largest economies in the world” and expanding “its role in the international community,” the report noted. Canada was applauded for its “reputation of welcoming immigrants” and its “high-tech industrial society with a high standard of living.”

As for the Brits, they placed competitively for continuing “to be at the scientific and technological fore,” said the report.

The report has the following to say about the USA: "The United States of America is a North American country, half the size of Russia, bordering Canada and Mexico. The country is the world’s most dominant player in terms of economic and military might, and has left a significant cultural imprint in part due to its entertainment industry. After experiencing terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. launched its so-called War on Terror, which included the Iraq War and the ongoing war in Afghanistan. The war has had wide-reaching effects on the country’s politics, economy and global alliances."

It continues: "Despite being the foremost global power, the U.S. still faces domestic challenges, including racial tensions, income inequality and an increasingly polarized electorate. While national security is a concern, so too, is the debt incurred from wars meant to ensure it. The U.S. leads the developed world in deaths due to firearms."

After the U.S. came Sweden, Australia, Japan and France respectively.

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