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Nigeria sits on the 22nd position of the list of Best Countries to Study Abroad Index but 76th of 80 countries on the list of Best Countries, according to Best Countries, a study published by U.S. News and World report.
South-Africa ranked 11th on the list of Best Countries to Study Abroad Index and 39th overall in Best Countries; whilst Ghana came in 24th on the list of Best Countries to Study Abroad Index and 71st on list of Best Countries.
The 2018 edition of the ranking which covered 80 countries captures how countries are perceived by the international community.
In its broad sense, Best Countries defines countries in terms of a number of qualitative characteristics, perceptions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment, and directly affect national economies.
The countries selected for the 2018 Best Countries rankings were determined based on their relevance across four benchmarks, such as; Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Human Development Index (HDI), foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and international tourism receipts or arrivals.
These countries make the list of World Bank’s Top 100 countries in GDP (2014-2015), Top 150 countries in United Nation’s HDI (2014-2015), Top 100 in UN’s FDI inflows (2013-2014), and Top 100 countries in international tourism receipts or arrivals based on World Bank data (2013-2014).
According to EduCeleb.com, an educational website, the study and model used to score and rank countries were developed by Y&R’s BAV Group and Professor David Reibstein of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, in consultation with U.S. News & World Report.
The Best Countries index ranking has been annual since 2016. The study also covered 23 other rankings. Among these are Best Countries for Women, Best Countries to Raise Kids, Best Countries to Start a Career, Best Countries to Start a Business, Best Countries to Travel Alone, Most Forward-Looking Countries, Most Influential Countries and Most Transparent Countries. Then, there was the overall Best Countries ranking.
Groups of relevant country attribute data were used to score and rank countries for these lists, but they do not affect the overall Best Countries score or ranking.
In the top ten of the Best Countries to Study Abroad ranking are South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, China, Thailand, Argentina, Romania, Brazil, Tanzania, and Indonesia.
The Best Countries to Study Abroad is quite different from the Best Countries for Education ranking. The top five in education are the United Kingdom, the United States Canada, Germany, and France. Ironically, Nigeria ranked 75th in this.
The Best Countries to Study Abroad category is the only point where Nigeria fared quite well. It is 78th in Best Countries for Green Living and Best Countries for Raising Kids, 76th in Best Countries for Women, 75th Best Countries for a Comfortable Retirement and 60th in Best Countries to Start a Business.
Furthermore, Nigeria ranked 79th in Most Transparent Countries, 55th in Most Influential Countries, 62nd in Most Forward-Looking Countries, and 71st in Best Countries to Travel Alone.
Within the sub-rankings, Nigeria didn’t fare well either.
In top ten of the overall Best Countries index are Switzerland, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, Australia, United States, France, and Netherlands. Nigeria shares the spot of the least overall with other countries at number 76.
Of the least Best Countries are Iran, Serbia, Angola and Algeria, which rank below Nigeria.
Close to these are Ghana, Belarus, Oman, Pakistan, and Lebanon which all ranked above Nigeria in the least ten of the overall Best Countries index.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU, with Agency Report
