Country rankings

Most Powerful Countries

China ranks 1st on Power Rank (US News) in 2026, followed by United States (2nd) and India (3rd); rank 1 is the best. Seychelles ranks last (100th).

EconomicsMilitaryPolitics & Government212 countries · 3 metricsUpdated Jul 4, 2025Original page
3 sources
99 of 235 countries
Compare this metricAdd to combined rankingOpen full map
Cost-of-living adjustmentConverts wages and incomes to what they would buy at average US prices, so $100k in a cheap state and $100k in an expensive one are not treated as equal.More in the glossary →

Power Rank (US News), 2026

Green is better, red is worse (rank 1 is the best). Click a place to highlight it.

Loading map…

Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 99 countries; rank 1 is the best.

Over time · 2023–2026

The top 5 in 2026; rank 1 at the top.

  • China
  • United States
  • India
  • Germany
  • Japan

Biggest changes · 2024 → 2026

85 countries have a value in both years; rank 1 is the best.

Climbed

Fell

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

99 countries · # = rank by Power Rank (US News)
#
1China1st
2United States2nd
3India3rd
4Germany4th
5Japan5th
6South Korea6th
7France7th
8United Kingdom8th
9Mexico9th
10Italy10th
11Russia11th
12Vietnam12th
13Canada13th
14Malaysia14th
15Netherlands15th
16Indonesia16th
17Brazil17th
18Thailand18th
19Spain19th
20Singapore20th
21Turkey21st
22Poland22nd
23Switzerland23rd
24Philippines24th
25Ireland25th
26Belgium26th
27Australia27th
28Sweden29th
29Austria30th
30Romania31st
31Israel32nd
32Hungary33rd
33Kazakhstan34th
34Egypt35th
35Denmark36th
36United Arab Emirates37th
37South Africa38th
38Norway39th
39Saudi Arabia40th
40Colombia41st
41Pakistan42nd
42Portugal43rd
43Argentina44th
44Slovakia45th
45Iran46th
46Greece47th
47Finland48th
48Bangladesh49th
49Chile50th
50Ukraine51st
51Morocco52nd
52Bulgaria53rd
53Nigeria54th
54Peru55th
55Lithuania56th
56Belarus57th
57Costa Rica58th
58New Zealand59th
59Slovenia60th
60Serbia61st
61Croatia62nd
62Dominican Republic63rd
63Qatar64th
64Tunisia65th
65Myanmar66th
66Guatemala67th
67Kuwait68th
68Cambodia69th
69Oman70th
70Uzbekistan71st
71Sri Lanka72nd
72Ecuador73rd
73Latvia74th
74Estonia75th
75Angola76th
76Kenya77th
77Luxembourg78th
78Algeria79th
79Armenia80th
80Paraguay81st
81Uruguay82nd
82Jordan83rd
83Bosnia and Herzegovina84th
84Malta85th
85Ethiopia86th
86El Salvador87th
87Ghana88th
88Laos89th
89Iceland90th
90Georgia91st
91Cyprus92nd
92Lebanon93rd
93Mongolia94th
94Zimbabwe95th
95Albania96th
96Bahrain97th
97Panama98th
98Iraq99th
99Seychelles100th

What correlates with Power Rank (US News) (2026)?

Pearson r against 1,724 other country metrics sharing at least 60 countries. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that rank better on Power Rank (US News) tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. IPv4 RankIP Address by CountryA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 99
    Plot
  2. Naval Power IndexMilitary Strength Index by Country
    r = −0.74 · very strong · n = 84
    Plot
  3. Share of All Chinese Products ExportedChina Exports by Country
    r = −0.71 · very strong · n = 98
    Plot
  4. Skilled Labor Score - US NewsMost Technologically Advanced Countries
    r = −0.70 · very strong · n = 84
    Plot
  5. Cultural Influence ScoreMajor Countries
    r = −0.69 · strong · n = 84
    Plot
  6. Heritage ScoreBest Countries
    r = −0.68 · strong · n = 84
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that rank better on Power Rank (US News) tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. Global FirePower IndexMilitary Strength Index by Country
    r = +0.78 · very strong · n = 95
    Plot
  2. Year of First Oscar SubmissionOscar Winners by Country
    r = +0.65 · strong · n = 88
    Plot
  3. Country CodePhone Number Length by Country
    r = +0.59 · strong · n = 99
    Plot
  4. Year Admitted to CommitteeUNHCR Member Countries
    r = +0.57 · strong · n = 68
    Plot
  5. Marketing Experts 2023Tier 1 Countries
    r = +0.55 · strong · n = 93
    Plot
  6. Lunio 2020Tier 1 Countries
    r = +0.54 · strong · n = 93
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country ranks first on Power Rank (US News)?
China ranks first on Power Rank (US News) in 2026, at 1st, followed by United States (2nd) and India (3rd). Rank 1 is the best country.
Which country ranks last on Power Rank (US News)?
Seychelles ranks last of the 99 countries with data in 2026, at 100th.
Where does this most powerful countries data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Most Powerful Countries - US News; Best Countries 2023 - US News; U.S. News Best Countries - US News.