Bloody ‘ell, America’s come a long way since the Revolution, innit?
According to the U.S. News & World Report “Best Countries” list released earlier this month, Americans believe that the U.K. is the best country in the world. That’s one spot ahead of New Zealand, and two spots ahead of the U.S. itself.
Australia and Sweden round out the top five, followed by Japan, France Switzerland and Germany in the top 10.
Overall, Switzerland landed the top spot when all 17,000 survey responses from 36 countries were factored in. The U.K. didn’t rank in the top five on the international list, which included Canada, Sweden, Australia and the U.S.
in the fifth spot. However, it did manage to make it into the top 10, in ninth place.
“In consultation with U.S. News & World Report, the study and model used to score and rank countries were developed by global marketing and communications services company WPP and its proprietary BAV brand analytics tool, and by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, specifically professor David Reibstein,” the outlet explained.
Respondents are asked to rank countries based on 73 attributes. These are separated into 10 categories: adventure, agility, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power, quality of life and social purpose.
Compared to last year, the U.K.’s reputation in the U.S. got a bump, moving up eight spots.
Last September, the country’s longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away. Her son, King Charles III, was then crowned. Gallup poll results released last month showed that nearly 60% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Charles’ heir, Prince William. That’s around 20% higher than Americans opinions of President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump, who will likely be the frontrunners in the 2024 presidential election.
Americans also appear to be fond of British media – particularly the “Harry Potter” franchise. According to Morning Consult survey results from this summer, around 60% of Americans were interested in a potential HBO Max revival of the series. Last year, Morning Consult found that found that 56% of Americans had a favorable opinion of the Harry Potter franchise, more than the share that had a favorable opinion of America’s Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise.
At the same time, there have recently been political struggles in England. After controversy, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned last July and he was replaced by Liz Truss. She was in office for just 45 days, failing to remain in the position longer than it took a head of lettuce to wilt (that’s explained here). Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took office Oct. 25 of last year. Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2020 also continues to have reverberations in the U.K.
Though the U.S. – at one point a collection of British colonies – established its identity by revolting against Great Britain and becoming its own nation, the two counties have long been allies.
“The United States has no closer ally than the United Kingdom, and British foreign policy emphasizes close coordination with the United States,” according to the U.S. State Department. “Bilateral cooperation reflects the common language, ideals, and democratic practices of the two nations.”
However, a 2021 YouGov poll found that Americans were more likely than the British to say that the two counties had a “special relationship” with each other. Still, Pew Research Center polling results from this summer found that 59% of those surveyed in Great Britain had a favorable view of the U.S.
“When the United States and the United Kingdom stand together, the world is a safer, better, and more prosperous place. And that’s why ours is the indispensable alliance,” said Prime Minister Sunak this June.