- caption
- Copenhagen, Denmark.
- source
- Flickr/Moyan Brenn
Though it may seem difficult to land a great job right after graduation, college-educated employees are actually in high demand worldwide. By 2020, there will be a void of roughly 40 million college-educated workers in the global economy, according to predictions from The McKinsey Global Institute.
Many newly minted graduates overlook the possibility of working abroad as they begin launching careers, but outside of the US, several other countries are ripe for building a career.
In partnership with brand strategy firm BAV and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, U.S. News & World Report compiled a list of the best countries to start a career, highlighting places with robust economies that are able to employ workers at their appropriate skill level. The ranking looked at how nearly 6,000 millennials (defined as adults less than 35 years old) scored countries on seven criteria: job market, economic stability, entrepreneurial atmosphere, income equality, innovation, progressiveness, and whether they wanted to live there. U.S. News weighted each metric equally to determine a country’s overall score.
Economic juggernaut China earned the No. 1 spot, followed by Germany in second and the US in third. Keep reading to check out the full list of the 15 best countries to launch a career.
15. France
- caption
- Paris, France.
- source
- Shutterstock
Capital: Paris
GDP: $2.8 trillion
Population: 66.2 million
14. Australia
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- Sydney, Australia.
- source
- Shutterstock
Capital: Canberra
GDP: $1.6 trillion
Population: 23.5 million
13. Singapore
- caption
- Singapore’s skyline.
- source
- Shutterstock
Capital: Singapore
GDP: $298 billion
Population: 5.5 million
12. Denmark
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- Copenhagen, Denmark.
- source
- REUTERS/Bob Strong
Capital: Copenhagen
GDP: $336 billion
Population: 5.6 million
11. Netherlands
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- Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- source
- Moyan Brenn/Flickr
Capital: Amsterdam
GDP: $854 billion
Population: 16.9 million
10. Saudi Arabia
- caption
- Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
- source
- Francisco Anzola/Flickr
Capital: Riyadh
GDP: $748 billion
Population: 30.9 million
9. Russia
- caption
- Moscow, Russia.
- source
- Shutterstock/Viacheslav Lopatin
Capital: Moscow
GDP: $2.1 trillion
Population: 143.8 million
8. Sweden
- caption
- Stockholm, Sweden.
- source
- Tommie Hansen/Flickr
Capital: Stockholm
GDP: $580 billion
Population: 9.7 million
7. South Korea
- caption
- Seoul, South Korea.
- source
- Shutterstock
Capital: Seoul
GDP: $1.3 trillion
Population: 50.4 million
6. Japan
- caption
- Tokyo, Japan.
- source
- Moyan Brenn/Flickr
Capital: Tokyo
GDP: $4.9 trillion
Population: 127.1 million
5. Canada
- caption
- Toronto, Canada.
- source
- Rick Ligthelm/Flickr
Capital: Ottawa
GDP: $1.8 trillion
Population: 35.5 million
4. United Kingdom
- caption
- London, England.
- source
- Shutterstock
Capital: London
GDP: $2.7 trillion
Population: 64.5 million
3. United States
- caption
- New York, New York.
- source
- Shutterstock
Capital: Washington, DC
GDP: $16.8 trillion
Population: 318.9 million
2. Germany
- caption
- Berlin, Germany.
- source
- Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
Capital: Berlin
GDP: $3.7 trillion
Population: 80.9 million
1. China
- caption
- Beijing, China.
- source
- Shutterstock
Capital: Beijing
GDP: $9.2 trillion
Population: 1.4 billion