Sweden, already known for its progressive climate policy and a self-deprecating sense of humor, is being recognized as the best country in the world to be an immigrant.
The Scandinavian nation was awarded the top slot based on its status as “a strong social welfare state that has long been considered a haven for migrants,” according to the rankings outlet, which releases its list of “best countries” each year.
Canada was named second on the 2017 US News and World Report list, followed by Switzerland, Australia, and Germany. The United States was down in seventh place, despite being home to one-fifth of the world’s migrants as of 2015—more than any other country.
Sweden—often described as the most refugee-friendly country in Europe, as Quartz previously reported—has grown weary over the years, and cut back on its open-door policy during the migrant and refugee crisis of 2015.
“It pains me that Sweden is no longer capable of receiving asylum seekers at the high level we do today,” Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Löfven, said then, after a year in which a record 163,000 people sought asylum. “We simply cannot do any more.”
The shift in refugee policy in Sweden did not seem to hurt the country’s overall ranking in the US News analysis. “While our methodology did not focus on refugees specifically, it did take into account immigration policies and integration measures per analysis from the United Nations,” Deidre McPhillips, a data reporter who helped design the rankings told the Washington Post. “Our aim with this package was to focus on the economic aspects of immigration and the impacts this could have on a country’s perceived standing in the world.”
The 2017 list was based on a survey of more than 21,000 people across the globe on their perceptions of 80 different countries. Participants were asked about four areas, including economic stability, job prospects, income equality, and living conditions.
On its methodology for the immigration ranking, US News adds:
Countries also were scored in relation to others on the share of migrants in their population; the amount of remittances the migrants they host sent home; and graded on a United Nations assessment of integration measures provided for immigrants, such as language training and transfers of job certifications, and the rationale behind current integration policies.
Here is the full top 10 list:
And here are the countries that round out the end of the list: