Vs.

United States vs. France

France and the United States have long held different ideas of how to balance economic growth with security. And as the crisis unfolded on Wall Street, eventually leading to global recession and major job losses, some analysts championed the French system of greater state protection despite its restrictions on trade and the rigidity of its labor laws. But while many economists would now argue that America needs to beef up its social safety net, the French system still has significant weaknesses. “The U.S. recognized the problems in the financial markets more quickly,” says David Wyss, an economist for Standard & Poor’s. “The French tried to shove them under the rug.” While the effects of the financial crisis are still playing out statistically, Newsweek’s Best Countries list ranks the U.S. higher than France both in terms of quality of life and economic dynamism. This is due in large part to the fact that American unemployment rate is slightly lower, while productivity and purchasing power remain higher than in France.

Germany vs. United Kingdom

Germany is an outlier among rich nations. While countries like the U.S. and particularly the U.K. now create most of their wealth in the service sector, Germany is still a manufacturing powerhouse. The big question in the wake of the financial crisis was whether Germany, with its reliance on exports, was more vulnerable to a global slowdown. The answer was ultimately no. Growth continued in emerging markets like China and Brazil, big buyers of high-end German machinery, while the U.K.’s housing woes and embrace of financial “wizardry” put the country in arguably worse shape than even the U.S. “Germany is the stronger economy,” says Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group. Despite concerns about a lack of domestic spending, analysts say Germany will likely continue on its current path, thanks not only to a still-booming export market, but also the relatively weak value of the euro. Meanwhile, the U.K. is fast on its way to becoming the most debt-saddled rich country in the world.

China vs. India

China and India don’t break the top 50 in Newsweek’s overall rankings, as measures of health, education, and quality of life continue to lag. Growth, however, remains strong in both countries, as they avoided the worst of the global economic slowdown. India continues to attract plenty of foreign investment and is finally pouring some of it into infrastructure—long its Achilles’ heel. Still, China ranked higher than India in the bulk of our categories, and, ironically, a major reason for that may have been the absence of democracy. In the long run, the inherent tension between free markets and one-party rule may cause problems for the emerging power, but for now the two are working hand in hand, streamlining policy decisions over deficits and spending. Meanwhile, India’s leaders remain mired in debate and stifled by bureaucracy. As Richard Kang, the director of research for Emerging Global Advisors, puts it, if the Chinese want to build a dam, “it just gets done.”