One American portal has published its list of the most powerful countries in the world, where of course, the USA comes in first place, while Croatia is ranked in a rather uninspiring 75th place. Rather more disappointingly still, it seems tha the portal has ranked Serbia in a much higher position than Croatia, in spite of Croatia's EU membership, which at least for now, appears to be a far-away dream for Serbia.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/VLM writes on the 29th of March, 2019, as was reported by U.S. The News & World Report, known for its somewhat controversial lists of top colleges and hospitals, published its list of the best countries based on the opinions of more than 20,000 people from across four different regions.
Within the list of the best countries, a podium of the most powerful countries was also published based on five determinants: leaders, economic influence, political influence, international alliances, and armed forces.
The top nine most powerful countries have remained the same as last year. The first is naturally America, described as the largest economy in the world and the country with the largest military budget.
Following are Russia and China, which are also at the top in terms of their spending on their armed forces. Then there are the long-reigning top European powers - Germany, Great Britain, and France.
The seventh place comes the economic giant Japan, followed by Israel, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, which made the jump from last year's 11th place.
The Republic of Croatia also jumped by one place, from 76th to 75th out of a total of 80 places, while this isn't particularly impressive in itself, the portal has listed it at number 30 in ''overall rankings''.
''Croatia has found itself at the crossroads of major historical movements, both East and West. These political shifts have uniquely shaped its present-day borders, which curve around Bosnia and Herzegovina in central Europe and stretch along the Adriatic Sea opposite Italy. The nation’s stunning Mediterranean coastline eases into the rugged Dinaric Alps and, continuing northeast, the fertile plains of the Danube River,'' the portal writes.
Countries are ranked in different categories, from being open to business, to how much holding citizenship means, to heritage, to cultural influence and even adventure prospects. While Croatia has done well in terms of ''adventure'', its ''power'' and ''quality of life'' statistics leave a lot to be desired for, at least according to this American portal.
Of our neighbours, Slovenia is in 78th place, Hungary 71st place, while Serbia is in a considerably higher 52nd place.
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Click here for the original article by VLM on Poslovni Dnevnik
