Free Republic

In an earlier article, I mentioned that lists ranking the "top" or "best" countries in the world are all over the web. Well, a friend sent me one today. It was produced by Condé Nast Traveler and is typical of the genre.This is their list:1. Norway 2. Australia/Switzerland (tie) (Due to the tie for number 2, there is no number 3) 4. Germany 5. Denmark/Singapore (tie) (No number 6) 7. The Netherlands 8. Ireland 9. Iceland 10. Canada/The United States (tie)Curious about how they arrived at this ranking, I decided to look more closely at their criteria. The list is based...

Congratulations, peoples of the United States of America, you’re living in the 7th best overall country in the world! U.S. News, in partnership with Y&R’s BAV and Wharton, came out with its ranking of the best countries in the world, all wrapped up in a beautiful, dynamic website. It almost takes the sting out of dropping from 4th to 7th — almost. “They rank it on categories they call adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power and quality of life,” Co-host Pat Gray said on The Glenn Beck Program. Coming in at number one was Switzerland,...

I’m doing PR for my new book, The Demographic Cliff, in Australia at the moment. Last week, I was in Sydney, and tomorrow until Sunday, I’ll be in Brisbane, speaking at the “Secure the Future” conference. I always tell Australians that, despite my grim worldview for the next six to 10 years, they will weather the next great global financial crisis better than anyone else. If I could live in any wealthy, English-speaking country, it would be there. Why? Because of its demographics, and it’s a very civil society! The truth is that, with the lower birth trends that come...

The United States was ranked the seventh-most economically competitive country in the world, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2012-2013. The WEF defines competitiveness as "the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country." While the U.S. benefits greatly from the sheer size of its economy, excellent universities, flexible labor markets, and innovative businesses, it's falling behind on the overall quality of infrastructure. The U.S. ranked 25 in this category, falling behind countries like Saudi Arabia, Spain, and South Korea. We took a closer look at those 24 countries...

The Economist Intelligence Unit recently published its "Where To Be Born in 2013" list, a measure of which countries provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead.WOND, an infographics and data visualization outfit based outside London, has put together a great repackaging of the data, which also included the list from 1988.Needless to say, things have changed over the past 25 years.With their permission, we're republishing it here. (Check them out at wond.co.uk). WOND/EIUAnd here are the measures:  Material wellbeing as measured by GDP per head (in $, at 2006 constant PPPS)Life expectancy...