Study: Malaysia Ranked as 6th Most Trustworthy Country in Asia & 38th Best Nation in the World

There have been many global studies regarding our country that don’t make good reading for us Malaysians as of late, including how our country dropped to our lowest ranking in the International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking 2024 and being named the nation with the 2nd unhappiest workforce in Southeast Asia.

Fret not, as this article delves into the complete opposite as a study by American media company U.S. News & World Report has ranked Malaysia as 1 of the most trustworthy nations in Asia!

The most trustworthy nations in the world

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The study is part of the U.S. News Best Countries rankings, whereby a country’s trustworthiness is 1 of the quality factors considered in the index.

Specifically, the publication’s ranking of the most trustworthy countries in the world is based on the top countries viewed as trustworthy by global survey respondents.

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Globally, Sweden was named the world’s most trustworthy nation, followed by fellow Scandinavian countries Denmark and Finland in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Making up the top 10 are Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia.

Malaysia is the 6th most trustworthy nation in Asia

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Meanwhile, in Asia, Japan is ranked as the most trustworthy country, followed by Singapore and South Korea.

Here’s the top 10 most trustworthy nations in Asia according to the study:

1. Japan (17th globally)
2. Singapore (21st globally)
3. South Korea (23rd globally)
4. Thailand (38th globally)
5. Vietnam (46th globally)
6. Malaysia (48th globally)
7. Indonesia (51st globally)
8. Sri Lanka (54th globally)
9. India (59th globally)
10. Russia (61th globally)

As for Malaysia, the overall U.S. News & World Report also ranked us as the 8th best country in Asia and 38th best in the world with an overall score of 31.5.

How the study was conducted

U.S. News & World Report noted that the rankings are based on how global perceptions define countries in terms of a number of qualitative characteristics – impressions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment, and directly affect national economies.

Moreover, only 87 nations were analysed in the study, whereby the participating countries must adhere to these 4 benchmark criteria:

• Top 100 countries in terms of gross domestic product in any year from 2017 to 2021, based on World Bank data.
• Top 100 countries in terms of foreign direct investment inflows in any year from 2017 to 2021, based on World Bank data.
• Top 100 countries in terms of international tourism receipts or tourism arrivals in any year from 2017 to 2021, based on World Bank data.
• Top 150 countries in the U.N.’s Human Development Index in any year from 2017 to 2021

Besides that, a total of 17,195 individuals from 36 countries in regions spanning the globe were surveyed. Of the respondents, 8,267 were informed elites, 4,622 were business decision-makers and 7,402 were considered general public. Some respondents were considered both informed elites and business decision-makers.

It is also worth noting that U.S. News & World Report considered Russia as within Asia and excluded the Middle East from the Asian rankings.

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So, what do you guys think of Malaysia being named the 6th most trustworthy nation in Asia? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Also read: Forbes Names Kuala Lumpur the 5th Most Dangerous ASEAN City for Tourists to Visit, 29th Globally