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NewsCut
Bob Collins

Survey: ‘America is not the greatest country in the world’

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The news that the United States isn't the best country in the world should startle Americans who've never watched The Newsroom. (Language alert!)

The U.S. News & World Report rankings, released today, rates Germany as the world's number one country.

Germany employs a social market economy – open-market capitalism that also carries certain social service guarantees. Its economy is one of the world’s largest and Germany is one of the globe’s leading importers and exporters.

Services, which include industries such as telecommunications, health care and tourism, contribute the greatest amount to the country’s economy. Industry and agriculture are other significant economic sectors.

Germany possesses a highly skilled, affluent workforce. The country’s population is aging, however, raising questions about the high level of spending for social services.

The overwhelming majority of citizens are ethnic German, with Turks and other Europeans representing significant minority populations. The country is one of the world’s most popular migration destinations, and the size of the foreign-born population in Germany has grown substantially in the 21st century.

The U.S. isn't number two or number three, either -- Canada and the U.K., respectively -- but comes in at the fourth best country in the world, which is still pretty good.

Despite being the foremost global power, the U.S. still faces domestic challenges, including racial tensions, income inequality and an increasingly polarized electorate. While national security is a concern, so too, is the debt incurred from wars meant to ensure it. The U.S. leads the developed world in deaths due to firearms.

The U.S. ranks No. 1 in the subcategory of "power."