What Changed — data as of September 2026
Ranking movements, data source updates, and regional trends across 95 countries.
Quick answer
The WhereNext composite ranking (data as of September 2026) has Singapore at #1 (71.5/100), New Zealand at #2 (70.1), and Switzerland at #3 (69.1). The strongest region by composite average is Europe at 59.6/100. Across 95 countries, the mean composite score is 49.1/100. All scores are derived from institutional datasets (World Bank ICP, UNDP HDI, IEP Global Peace Index, OECD PISA, EF EPI, Eurostat) — no crowdsourced inputs.
Key facts
- #1: Singapore 71.5/100 composite — top of the global ranking.
- #2: New Zealand 70.1/100 composite.
- #3: Switzerland 69.1/100 composite.
- Regional leader: Europe 59.6/100 average across countries in the region.
- Global mean: 49.1/100 across 95 countries · refreshed from official and institutional sources.
Top 10 Countries — data as of September 2026
| Rank | Country | Region | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | Asia | 71.5 |
| #2 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Oceania | 70.1 |
| #3 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | Europe | 69.1 |
| #4 | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | Middle East | 69 |
| #5 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | Europe | 69 |
| #6 | 🇲🇹 Malta | Europe | 68.6 |
| #7 | 🇨🇦 Canada | Americas | 67.9 |
| #8 | 🇦🇺 Australia | Oceania | 67.7 |
| #9 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | Asia | 67.6 |
| #10 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Europe | 67.6 |
Ranking movement
Rank changes since our snapshot of 2026-09-09. 45 of 95 tracked countries moved. That legacy snapshot recorded the catalogue-wide release date; its source editions cannot be compared with today’s scoring-only vintage.
Climbed
Fell
Standout Performers — Above & Below Average
Countries scoring furthest from the mean (49/100). These are the biggest outliers in the current dataset.
Above Average
Below Average
Regional Averages
Europe59.6
37 countriesMiddle East52.3
8 countriesOceania44.8
4 countriesAmericas44.3
16 countriesOther44
2 countriesAsia43.1
19 countriesAfrica27.7
9 countriesData Sources Updated This Quarter
OECD Taxing Wages, Earnings, Health SpendingMarch 2026
ILO Unemployment, Labor ParticipationMarch 2026
Eurostat Price Levels, Housing Burden, CrimeMarch 2026
OECD Broadband, House Prices, InequalityMarch 2026
World Bank PPP, GDP, GovernanceMarch 2026
WHO UHC, Physician DensityMarch 2026