"The 2021 Best Countries analysis combines data and storytelling to explore how countries compare on a host of global issues." For the first time, Canada is the No. 1 overall country. Japan and Germany finish Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, while Switzerland, the previous No. 1 overall country, falls to No. 4.
Similarly, Luxembourg's population is just under 633,000—but it's the richest country in the world on a per capita basis.
The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labor force.
Best Countries Overall Rank: 1
- Switzerland.
- Canada.
- Germany.
- Denmark.
- Japan.
- Australia.
- Sweden.
- Netherlands.
National wealth can fluctuate, as evidenced in the
United States data following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic recovery.
List of countries and geographic regions by total wealth (2019)
| Rank | 2 |
|---|
| Country/geographic region | China |
|---|
| Total wealth (billions USD) | 63,827 |
|---|
| Share of total | 17.7% |
|---|
Albania is not far behind Bosnia, with a GDP that is 30 per cent of the EU average, while Serbia and Macedonia are both on 35 per cent and Montenegro is on 42 per cent. Croatia, which is going to become an EU member state on July 1, is the richest country in the region. Its GDP is 61 per cent of the EU average.
The economy of Germany is a highly developed social market economy. It has the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP (PPP). Germany is a founding member of the European Union and the Eurozone.
Italians are not richer than Germans or AustriansBut the average Italian household—obtained by dividing the total net wealth by the total number of households—is clearly less wealthy than in Germany or Austria. One of the main reasons for this is that private-property ownership plays a greater role in Italy.
United States has a GDP per capita of $59,800 as of 2017, while in Italy, the GDP per capita is $38,200 as of 2017.
The EU as a whole is the second wealthiest and second largest economy in the world, below the US by about $5 trillion.
2014-10 Richest countries in Europe
| 1 | Luxembourg | 90,790 |
|---|
| 2 | Norway | 65,461 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 53,672 |
| 4 | Austria | 44,149 |
| 5 | Sweden | 43,533 |
Jobs in demand in Europe require specialists in medicine, engineering, and IT programming.
- Engineers. Graduates of engineering specialities still have bright prospects for employment.
- Social workers. One of the most needed jobs in Europe.
- Psychologists.
- Lawyers.
- Chemists.
- Biologists.
- Mathematics and Physics.
- Doctors.
10 of the best cities in Eastern Europe
- Prague, Czech Republic.
- Budapest, Hungary.
- Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Tallinn, Estonia.
- Riga, Latvia.
- Dubrovnik, Croatia.
- Kiev, Ukraine.
- Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Slovenian capital offers the visitor a small but attractive scenery in which to escape in search of a dose of tranquility.
Europe is larger in land area than the United States. Therefore, Europe has a bigger land area (3,910,680 sq miles) than the U.S. (3,531,905 sq miles). The distance between the United States and Europe is approximately 4,905.79 miles.
GDP by Country in 2019. China has been the world's largest economy since 2017, when it took the top spot from the EU.
With a GDP of $3.5 trillion, Germany is the largest economy in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Like other highly developed, service-oriented social market economies, Germany has one of the highest standards of living in the world.
The European Union's fastest growing economy in 2019 was Ireland, with the country's Gross Domestic Product growing by 5.5 percent that year. This was followed by Hungary at 4.9 percent and Malta at 4.4 percent.
