According to experts, Sweden is the best country for immigration
In addition, as Gazeta.Ru writes, a survey was conducted among 21,000 businesspeople and representatives of various elites and opinion makers. Additionally, the compilers used indicators from the World Bank and UN databases – the latter concerning the number of migrants that different countries accept and those they deport back to their homeland.
For the magazine, this turned out to be a continuation of a project started last year – if earlier it compiled lists of the best universities, hospitals, and cars, now it has taken on entire countries. Assessing their prospects for migrants proved to be a quite timely idea: the problem of moving residents from the poorest or conflict-ridden countries is one of the most acute today. The study answers the burning question: "Where to go?"
The compilers of the ranking suggest "going" primarily to Sweden – it took the top spot in the current hit parade. The Scandinavian country is followed by Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Germany, and Norway. A surprise for the magazine's experts was that the US, this global melting pot, ended up in seventh place, while the Netherlands, Finland, and Denmark round out the top ten. We should be surprised that Russia ended up in 24th place.
Sweden is not the first time it has been in the spotlight of Americans regarding migration: in February 2017, Donald Trump turned to the example of this country when, in an anti-immigration fervor, he suggested that US residents look at Sweden with its migration policy, be horrified, and understand that one cannot live like that: "They took in huge numbers, and now they have problems they never thought of," Trump said then, angering the Swedes themselves with this statement.
The US president hinted at a terrorist attack allegedly occurring in Sweden the day before – needless to say, nothing of the sort happened in February in the homeland of Carlson and Pippi Longstocking. A flash mob #LastNightInSweden was launched on Twitter – Swedes posted photos of reindeer supposedly storming the country's border, young people despairing over assembling an IKEA wardrobe, messages that the previous evening someone ordered a burger and two kebabs and didn't pick them up. (However, a month and a half later, it turned out that Donald Trump was still right: on April 7, a truck plowed into a pedestrian area in central Stockholm, killing four people and injuring 15. The police regarded this attack as a terrorist act.)
In recent years, Sweden has indeed become one of the most popular destinations for refugees from Africa and the Middle East, but the compilers of the ranking did not assess countries' migration policies – it was more important for them to analyze the level of comfort they can provide to newcomers, so economic indicators were prioritized. Additionally, it was important for them to understand how the country would be perceived by residents of other states in connection with the influx of migrants.
Sweden's northern neighbors – Norway, Finland, and Denmark – made it into the top ten primarily due to their stable economies and small gap between rich and poor. The US, according to the compilers, ended up in a disappointing seventh place precisely because in recent years this gap has become increasingly significant. They sent the UK to 17th place because, in their opinion, the benefits of a strong British economy are enjoyed primarily by locals – similar to, for example, Saudi Arabia and Myanmar.
This is not the first ranking in which U.S. News and World Report attempts to determine the "best" and "worst" countries. In March 2017, they published a ranking simply called "Best Countries." Based on a survey of 21,000 residents of 36 countries, they found that Switzerland looks most attractive in their eyes, providing favorable conditions for business development, exerting significant cultural influence, and creating excellent living conditions for its citizens.
In second place was Canada, in third – the UK, followed by Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the US (again in seventh place). According to the compilers, the US image suffered seriously due to Donald Trump's victory. Russia, meanwhile, ended up among the best countries in 27th place.