The countries atop U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Countries rankings score highly in a number of economic, political, social and quality of life categories. They are also leaders in the realm of higher education.
Of the top five ranked countries, each of their three top universities rank inside the top 130 globally, according to the U.S. News ranking of Best Global Universities. Most rank within the top 100, with many inside the top 50 worldwide.
The United States, No. 4 on the list of best countries, claims the top three universities in the world — Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, in that order. Switzerland, the No. 1 country in the world, has its three top schools inside the top 70 globally.
Here are the top three colleges in each of the top five countries according the U.S. News Best Countries and Best Global Universities lists. (The list of countries counts down from No. 5.)
5. Sweden
With a population of 10.4 million, Sweden rose four spots from its 2021 ranking in U.S. News’s Best Countries list. It ranks No. 1 for both perceived quality of life and social purpose and ranks No. 9 for entrepreneurship — countries that are seen as innovative with enterprising citizens.
Contributing to the country’s quality are its top three universities: Karolinska Institutet, Lund University and Stockholm University, all three of which rank in the Top 125 in U.S. News’s Best Global Universities list.
1. Karolinska Institutet
Founded in 1810 as a school for army surgeons, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm offers degrees solely in the medical and health sciences. It’s ranked No. 51 in U.S. News’s Best Global Universities and, according to its website, the university accounts for nearly 12 percent of academic doctoral education in Sweden. In 2021, 60 percent of Karolinska Institutet’s 2,061 doctoral students were women.
More than 8,000 students attend the university, with nearly 2,200 of those being international students.
2. Lund University
Founded in 1666, Lund University is one of the oldest universities in Sweden. The school, which is tied for No. 112 globally, enrolls 46,000 students, according to its website, with 27% of those being international students from more than 130 countries. Tuition is free for students from countries in the European Union and European Economic Area as well as Switzerland.
3. Stockholm University
The school was founded in 1878 “as a radical alternative to the traditional educational establishment,” and did not administer exams or award diplomas until 1904, according to its website. Originally known as Stockholm University College, it was granted university status in 1960 and today “stands for openness and accessibility with an active role in society.”
Tied for No. 127 globally, Stockholm University enrolls 30,500 students, according to its website.
4. United States
The United States is considered the most powerful country in the world, according to U.S. News rankings. These are countries that “consistently dominate news headlines, preoccupy policymakers and shape global economic patterns.” It also ranks No. 1 in agility, No. 2 in entrepreneurship and No. 3 in cultural influence.
The top two schools on the Best Global Universities list, Harvard and MIT, are both located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. The third, Stanford, stands alone as the top school on the West Coast in Stanford, California.
1. Harvard University
The oldest university in the U.S., Harvard was founded in 1636. Nearly 22,000 students, including about 5,400 international students, attend, according to U.S. News data. It has the largest endowment of any school in the world and also houses the largest academic library in the world with about 19 million volumes at its more than 70 libraries.
The Ivy League school ranks No. 1 in the U.S. News Best Global Universities list. Eight U.S. presidents studied at Harvard, more than any other university.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
More than 11,400 students attend MIT, one of the leading scientific and technological research universities in the world. Nearly 3,800 of those students are international students. The university was founded on April 10, 1861, just two days before the start of the Civil War, and after years of fundraising, classes officially began in 1865.
Distinguished alumni include Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke.
3. Stanford University
Stanford University was founded in 1885 by California senator Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, as a memorial to their son, Leland, Jr., who died of typhoid fever in 1884. Located just south of San Francisco, Stanford is one of the leading research universities in the country. Today, more than 16,000 students are enrolled with nearly 3,900 being international students.
Aside from academics, Stanford is competitive across the board in athletics. The football team has a rivalry with the University of California–Berkeley, where the winner of the game takes home the coveted “Stanford Axe” trophy.
3. Canada
Canada fell two spots to No. 3 after ranking No. 1 in 2021 on the Best Countries list. It ranks third for both perceived quality of life and agility, and scores highly for social purpose, friendliness and safety. Its top three schools, the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and McGill University, rank in the Top 60 in the U.S. News list of Best Global Universities.
1. University of Toronto
Ranked No. 18 globally, the University of Toronto is a public institution that was founded in 1827 as King’s College. With more than 77,000 students enrolled, it’s the largest university in Canada, according to U.S. News data. More than 20,000 are international students, coming from 170 different countries and regions.
In the early 1920s, researchers from the University of Toronto discovered insulin, which is used to help regulate blood sugar levels for people with diabetes.
2. University of British Columbia
Ranked No. 35 globally, the University of British Columbia was established in 1908 and opened in 1915. It has two main campuses — the Vancouver campus, where most UBC students attend, and the Okanagan campus, near Okanagan Lake in British Columbia’s interior. Nearly 59,000 students are enrolled, with more than 20,000 being international students.
Several Canadian prime ministers, including current prime minister Justin Trudeau, call UBC their alma mater.
3. McGill University
More than 32,000 students attend McGill, ranked No. 54 globally. The school also enrolls nearly 10,000 international students from more than 150 countries. Founded in 1821, the university has two campuses in the province of Quebec: the downtown campus in Montreal and the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. One of the crowning research achievements at the university was the creation of the first artificial blood cell.
2. Germany
Up one spot from 2021, Germany is the No. 2 country overall. It ranks in the top five for entrepreneurship,power and agility. It also earns high marks for its perceived economic stability and progressiveness, ranking No. 2 in both categories. Two of its top three universities, the University of Munich and Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg rank in the Top 60 globally, with its No. 3 school, Humboldt University of Berlin, ranking just outside at No. 61 globally.
All three public universities, like many German public institutions, don’t charge tuition — students pay only relatively low semester fees.
1. University of Munich
Tracing its roots back to 1472, the University of Munich is one of the oldest universities in Germany. It’s ranked No. 47 in the Best Global list. Nearly 52,000 students are enrolled, according to the university’s website.
Several Nobel Prize winners call the University of Munich their alma mater.
2. Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg
Heidelberg University, as it is often known colloquially, was founded in 1386 after gaining a blessing from Pope Boniface IX and is the oldest university in Germany. It’s home to more than 19,000 students, roughly 4,000 of whom are international. One research achievement associated with Heidelberg University, ranked No. 57 globally, is the creation of the Bunsen burner. Robert Bunsen taught at Heidelberg and invented this now-common laboratory tool with several colleagues.
3. Humboldt University of Berlin
More than 34,000 students attend Humboldt University of Berlin, a public university founded in 1810. About 6,000 international students are enrolled, according to U.S. News data. The university claims a large number of Nobel Prize winners, perhaps the most famous being renowned physicist Albert Einstein, who served as a faculty member and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.
1. Switzerland
Switzerland claimed the top spot on the 2022 U.S. News list of Best Countries. Known for its history of neutrality, the country ranks No. 4 for quality of life and No. 1 in being open for business, while also being considered the most politically stable country as well as the most safe. Its top university, ETH Zurich, also ranks in the Top 10 for Best Global Universities in Europe and ranks No. 29 globally. University of Zurich (tied for No. 67 overall) and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (No. 69 overall) round out the country’s top three.
1. ETH Zurich
Formally known as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, the school was founded in 1855 and today has an enrollment of more than 21,000 students, with more than 8,700 being international students. The university can also claim Einstein as an alumnus and faculty member, as he taught physics at the Swiss university and is one of 21 Nobel laureates associated with the school.
2. University of Zurich
Founded in 1833, the University of Zurich enrolls 25,255 students, making it the largest university in Switzerland. It was also Europe’s first university to be established by a democratic political system, according to the school’s website. It is well-known in science fields such as medicine, immunology, genetics, neuroscience and structural biology, and also prides itself on its economics studies. Twelve Nobel Prize winners studied at the university.
3. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
Founded in 1969, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne is one of the newer universities in Switzerland. Often referred to as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, the school has an enrollment of more than 11,600 with more than 7,200 being international students, according to U.S. News data. Along with ETH Zurich, it’s one of Switzerland’s two federal institutes of technology.
See the complete rankingsof the Best Global Universities.
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