Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
The House of Commons returns today to sit for five weeks following the Easter break. A Canada flag is pictured with the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, April 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Canada is not ranked as the best country in the world, but we’re apparently working our way up, according to the latest Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index.
Canada comes in right behind Germany to snag second place in the survey.
Our land of maple syrup, poutine, snow, and politeness moved up one ranking since last year, with the U.K. dropping from second in 2020 to fifth overall in 2021.
A graph ranking the top 10 countries in the world shows Canada sits in second behind Germany. (Courtesy Ipsos)The index ranks 60 countries based on a variety of factors. It looks at governance, friendliness, culture, and quality of life, all of which Canada apparently has in spades.
Canada has rounded out the top three for the past couple of years, but this is the highest we’ve climbed in the rankings.
“First place rankings on the Governance, People, and Immigration and Investment indices, as well as relatively steady rankings on Exports, Tourism, and Culture contributed to Canada’s record ranking in 2021,” Ipsos says.
Japan follows behind to take third spot overall, while Italy comes in fourth.
Germany has held onto the top spot for five years now.
When it comes to our neighbour to the south, the U.S. also moved up slightly, to eight place.
Ipsos says the U.S. had one of the most notable declines overall last year, dropping from sixth in 2019 to 10th last year.
“Its fall was triggered by sharp decreases on Governance, Tourism, and Immigration and Investment,” the market research and consulting firm says. “A year later, despite the pandemic still being very much prevalent in the U.S., a wide political divide in society, and persistent vaccine hesitancy, the United States’ reputation has begun to rebound and improved on each of these categories.”
