Europe — the land of high culture, high fashion, delicious food and centuries-spanning history. What’s not to love?
Well, we asked ourselves this question, and considering how many countries are in Europe, we decided there are plenty of things not to love. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but a good deal of Europe’s 44 official countries (as recognized by the United Nations) have no business being among the Greeces, Spains and Swedens of the continent.
Armed with the knowledge that, in fact, not all of Europe is so superior to the rest of the world, we set out to decide which countries are enviable and which ones just aren’t. We’re wholly certain many readers will be astonished by our conclusions. Which is to say, we fully expect many people will vehemently disagree, especially if they already have strong opinions about the best European countries to live in and visit.
Here’s our ranking of all 44 countries in Europe, from worst to best.
How Iceland Compares
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We get it, Iceland, you’re pretty. You have strange geographical anomalies, weird lights appear in your skies at various times of the year, your residents are friendly to a fault, and your hotels are made of ice.
But a lot of your cool features come with major downsides. Sure, the Northern Lights are amazing, but they’re extremely elusive, and the trade-off is near-total darkness for months on end. Your unique natural beauty has made you extremely overtouristed, which in turn is making you less beautiful. And it turns out sleeping in an ice hotel, while awesome for Insta shots, is in no way comfortable. Because, well, it involves sleeping on ice.
Also, we just think the whole layover offer is so pathetic and wastes time we’d rather be spending in the less icy parts of Europe.
How Sweden Compares
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They put blonde hair dye in the water here and only eat cured fish, so how could it rank so high?
Because of its global contributions to those little things called prosperity, equality, science and technology and health, that’s why.
Locals know how to treat strangers well, they actually give parents time off to raise their kids, and if the economy isn’t humming along, the government will pay you to leave your job and relax for a while.
Actually, forget visiting Sweden. Can we move here instead?
How Denmark Compares
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When it comes to the essentials in life, no one does it better than the Danes. They might not have the museums of France, the cuisine of Italy, the beaches of Spain and Portugal, or the wine of Croatia, but the overall quality of life in this Scandinavian country is tops in the world.
It starts with incredible and affordable health care, housing and transit. But there’s so much more. Jobs are plentiful, education is accessible, pollution and crime barely exist, and people spend very little time feeling sad and depressed about the future.
Danes even have a word called “janteloven” that basically means, we’re all equal and important and deserve each other’s respect. This makes it an awesome place to live in, an awesome place for all to visit and the best country in Europe.
And that’s just a fact.
