According to analysts, the most powerful countries in 2023 may be the United States, China, and Russia. The study was conducted by News & World Report, a multidisciplinary digital media company headquartered in Washington, D.C., designed to help consumers, business leaders and policymakers make important decisions, El.kz reports citing Ranking.
The rating was compiled on the basis of a survey conducted among 17.2 thousand people in 36 countries of the world. All countries were assessed for each of the 73 criteria (attributes) based on a set of individual responses. The more a country was perceived as an example of a particular characteristic in relation to the average, the higher that country's attribute score was, and vice versa. These scores have been transformed into a scale that can be compared across the board.
To be included in the ranking, a country had to meet four control criteria:
the top 100 countries by gross domestic product in any year from 2017 to 2021, according to the World Bank;
the top 100 countries in terms of foreign direct investment inflows in any year from 2017 to 2021, according to the World Bank;
the top 100 countries in terms of international tourism revenue or tourist arrivals in any year from 2017 to 2021, according to the World Bank;
top 150 countries in the UN Human Development Index for any year from 2017 to 2021.
Countries that did not meet all four benchmarks, as well as countries that did not provide these statistics, were not included in the study.
The most powerful states were determined through the "Strength" sub-rating, based on an equal-weighted average score of the country's six power-related characteristics: leadership, economic influence, strong exports, political influence, strong international alliances, and a strong military.
The top ten most powerful countries also included Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In total, 87 countries were included in the ranking. Kazakhstan, by the way, took the 50th place in terms of power in the world, finding itself between Lebanon and Uzbekistan. It is worth noting that Ukraine is in 14th place, and Israel is in 11th place.
The world's most powerful countries constantly dominate the headlines, worry policymakers, and shape global economic models. Their foreign policy and military budgets are closely monitored. When they make promises, at least some members of the international community believe (or fear) that such promises will be kept. These countries are projecting their influence onto the world stage.
Among the six attributes associated with a country's power, the U.S. received the highest possible score — 100 — on the criterion of international alliances. In China, such attributes as economic influence and possession of strong exports stand out. Russia, in turn, received scores of 100 points on the attributes of leadership, political influence and military strength.
At the same time, the total scores, as expected, were the highest in the United States.