IRELAND HAS DROPPED three places on a list that seeks to rank the “best countries” in the world.
Ireland came in 21st place in the annual survey which is carried out by US News & World Report, Y&R’s BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
The overall winner in the list was Switzerland which came in ahead of Canada, the UK, Germany and Japan.
The survey ranked 80 countries across a range of categories before making the overall list.
The 20 categories included areas like adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage and raising children.
Out of all the categories, Ireland’s best results were in the categories marked ‘best countries to travel alone’, where we came in 9th place, and ‘best countries for raising kids’, where we were 12th.
Interestingly given the focus on in it, Ireland performed poorly in terms of being a good destination for international students.
Ireland was ranked in 47th in the ‘study abroad’ category, our second lowest ranking behind ‘power’ where we were 51st.
In its overview of Ireland, the survey makes reference to the country’s economic reliance on foreign multinationals and the historic influence of the Catholic Church:
Long considered a traditional, even conservative society, Ireland’s social norms are evolving, causing clashes between younger generations and the Roman Catholic Church. In 2015, Ireland became the first nation to approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote.
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