London: World Citizenship Report 2023 was released by London-based government advisory and marketing firm CS Global Partners on April 20, 2023. This year, Denmark has been crowned with the top rank, followed by Switzerland and Finland in second and third position, respectively.
The report has suggested that the major reason behind Denmark’s success in the report is its highest ranking in two motivators, including Financial Freedom and Quality of Life. The overall score of Denmark was 87.6, after securing 84 points in Financial Freedom and 90.6 in Quality of Life.
In the 2023 edition of the WCR, the publishers have taken a unique look at the needs of global citizens because one’s nationality and the rights and responsibilities should be considered from a personal perspective, the report informed the readers.
Download the Report HERE
The WCR is the world’s first-ever endeavour investigating the value of citizenship for an individual who seeks to become a global citizen. Now in its second year, the WCR has been working to build on its reputation as an ambitious product reflecting the evolving nature of these attitudes toward citizenship and one that is in tune with the defining issues of the present time with respect to global citizens, including health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and shifting investment priorities.
The World Citizenship Report has surveyed 188 countries on the basis of five motivators. Overall scores were calculated by combining the weights with the score each country received in all motivators of citizenship, named Safety and Security, Quality of Life, Economic Opportunity, Financial Freedom and Global Mobility. Out of all, the top five ranked nations were Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand.
As per the report, the top ten countries in 2022 and 2023 are remarkably similar, with some movement up and down. Switzerland ranked first in 2022, but Denmark climbed to the first spot in 2023.
Download the Report HERE
Micha Rose Emmett, the CEO of CS Global Partners, has addressed people around the world and highlighted how WCR can contribute to providing assistance in choosing the citizenship of an ideal country.
CEO Emmett noted, “Finding a new country to call your home may offer individuals the opportunity to fulfil their basic needs by providing access to necessities, a sense of safety as well as security, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.”
She further said that this is where the World Citizenship Report comes in. Not only does the report deliver a data-intensive product that highlights the importance of nationality.
It is worth noting that the WCR highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each country through the assessment of five key motivators, which are:
1) Safety and security
2) Economic Opportunities
3) Quality of Life
4) Financial Freedom
5) Global Mobility
Download the Report HERE
1) Safety and Security: Out of all the motivators, safety and security are very important and prominent as it remains a priority for the average mass affluent global citizen. This is something that comes as no surprise given the uncertain state of the world, and one needs to look no further than the war in Ukraine as a painful reminder of the relative fragility of peace.
According to the World Citizenship Report, the top ten nations which can be chosen by people seeking safety and security are as follows:
1) Iceland with 95.8 score
2) New Zealand with 95.1 score
3) Switzerland with 93.1 score
4) Denmark with 92.2 score
5) Norway with 92.0 score
6) Finland with 91.5 score
7) Austria with 90.9 score
8) Luxembourg with 90.1 score
9) Liechtenstein with 90.0 score
10) Ireland with 89.5 score
2) Economic Opportunity: Economic Opportunity motivator measures the overall ability of a nation to extend wealth, material comfort, and other key benefits of a strong economy to all of its citizens. As per the report, the total weighting of the economic opportunity motivator is around 20 percent.
Download the Report Here
However, the resulting data indicates East Asia dominates the top five ranking positions, securing three places with Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. The top ten ranked countries are:
1) Singapore with 84.8 score
2) United States of America with 83.7 score
3) Hong Kong (SAR China) with 83.1 score
4) Netherlands with 82.4 score
5) Japan with 82.3 score
5) Switzerland with 82.3 score
6) Germany with 81.2 score
7) Denmark with 81.2 score
7) Sweden with 81.2 score
7) United Kingdom with 81.2 score
8) Finland with 80.2 score
8) Taiwan with 80.2 score
9) Canada with 79.6 score
10) Liechtenstein with 79.3 score
10) Monaco with 79.3 score
10) San Marino with 79.3 score
3) Quality of Life: Quality of Life motivator assesses the ability of a nation to provide a cleaner, more resilient environment through sustainable practices. The top nations under this motivator are:
1) Monaco with 90.9 score
2) Denmark with 90.6 score
3) Hong Kong (SAR China) with 90.4 score
4) Finland with 89.6 score
5) Sweden with 89.2 score
6) United Kingdom with 89.1 score
7) Switzerland with 88.6 score
8) Liechtenstein with 88.2 score
9) Luxembourg with 87.8 score
10) Malta with 87.7 score
4) Global Mobility: The ability to travel freely between different jurisdictions is fundamental to the idea of global citizenship, as it is the one element without which its other benefits cannot be realised. Therefore, this motivator is very important.
According to CS Global Partners, not only does freedom of movement allow for the free flow of talent and goods and services across borders, which stimulates economic growth, but it also allows for the learning of new cultures, languages, and ways of life, all of which can foster improved relations between countries. Perhaps most importantly, a second passport is the essential insurance policy, or ‘Plan B’, that can guarantee physical safety and security against potential economic, political, or health crises.
Download the Report HERE
The top ten positions were claimed by:
1) Japan with 88.9 score
2) Singapore with 88.5 score
3) Germany with 87.8 score
3) Spain with 87.8 score
4) Finland with 87.5 score
4) Italy with 87.5 score
4) Luxembourg with 87.5 score
5) Austria with 87.1 score
5) Denmark with 87.1 score
5) Netherlands with 87.1 score
5) Sweden with 87.1 score
6) France with 86.8 score
6) Ireland with 86.8 score
6) Portugal with 86.8 score
6) United Kingdom with 86.8 score
7) Belgium with 86.4 score
7) Czech Republic with 86.4 score
7) New Zealand with 86.4 score
7) Norway with 86.4 score
7) Switzerland with 86.4 score
7) United States of America with 86.4 score
8) Australia with 86.1 score
8) Canada with 86.1 score
8) Greece with 86.1 score
8) Malta with 86.1 score
9) Korea (Republic) with 86.0 score
10) Hungary with 85.7 score
10) Poland with 85.7 score
5) Financial Freedom: The Financial Freedom motivator measures the ability of a country to provide a favourable and stable regulatory climate for the establishment and functioning of businesses, as well as the holding of personal and business assets. When asked, “Why is Financial Freedom important when considering a second citizenship?” one of the contributors of the World Citizenship Report Survey 2023 stated, “Generally speaking, being an entrepreneur, of course, I think that government should be less involved in regulations of businesses and the economy.”
According to the report, the top ten nations offering Financial Freedom are:
1) Denmark with 84.0 score
2) New Zealand with 83.8 score
3) Singapore with 83.7 score
4) Switzerland with 83.1 score
5) Finland with 82.7 score
6) Norway with 80.5 score
6) Sweden with 80.5 score
7) Netherlands with 79.8 score
8) Ireland with 79.5 score
9) Luxembourg with 78.8 score
10) Germany with 77.6 score
Download the Report HERE
Along with this, the World Citizenship Report has also emphasised the Citizenship by Investment Programme offered by many Caribbean nations. While mentioning the top CBI Programmes of the region, the report read, “Countries such as the Commonwealth of Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia offer some of the best economic citizenship programmes in the world as they provide investors with opportunities far beyond their home shores. These programmes also provide easy access to international markets and are subject to less political risk.”
