Best Country Analysis US Overview

THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP
Best Countries to Live in

Findings from BCG's 2013 global consumer sentiment survey (US-focused results)
September 2013
Summary of key U.S. findings

Key themes Supporting detail BCG's Center for Consumer and Customer Research surveyed nearly 28,000 people in 11 countries about the best countries in which to live Countries surveyed were: the U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and India A third of global respondents (34%) picked Australia as a top choice (excluding their home country), followed by Canada (27%) and the U.S. (24%) U.S. residents ranked English-speaking countries as their top picks. The U.S. was their first choice (81%), followed by Canada (38%), Australia (35%), and the U.K. (20%) Nonresidents cited economic opportunity/material well-being, quality education, and cost of living as the top reasons for wanting to live in the U.S. Political freedom, economic opportunity/material well-being, tolerance for many cultures and/or religions, quality education, and quality healthcare were the top reasons cited by residents Interestingly, Americans placed a somewhat lower emphasis on economic opportunity (32% versus 53% for nonresidents), cost of living (11% versus 26%), and quality education (26% versus 11%) Americans placed a much higher emphasis on political freedom (51% versus 13% for nonresidents), tolerance for many cultures and/or religions (30% versus 15%), and quality healthcare (20% versus 11%) 32% of respondents in those rapidly developing economies ranked the U.S. a top 3 place to live, followed by Australia (22%) and Canada (20%) U.S. Millennials (ages 16-34 in 2011) ranked EU countries such as the U.K., Italy and France, as well as Japan, higher as a best place to live than older generations Not surprisingly, U.S. Baby Boomers and the generation above (so-called "Silents") felt even more strongly that the U.S. is their favorite country to live in
Nonresident consumers in 10 countries rank the U.S. as a top place to live, behind Australia and Canada
The U.S. is the most popular place to live among residents of Brazil and India U.S. Millennials show a much stronger interest in living in EU countries and Japan than older generations of Americans
Copyright 2013 by The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nonresidents and residents have very different reasons for choosing the U.S. as a top place to live
BCG surveyed nearly 28,000 consumers in 11 countries

Local languages were used in the research part of a global consumer sentiment survey
US
Canada
Brazil
Japan
Australia
India
2,503 English
3,099 English French
2,391 Portuguese
2,504 Japanese
2,502 English (localized)
2,539 English (localized)
2,497 German
2,501 French
2,389 Italian
2,469 Spanish
A total of 27,620 consumers spanned both developed and developing economies

2
UK
Germany
France
Italy
Spain
2,226 10 languages Assamese Bengali Gujarati Hindi Kannada Marathi Oriya Tamil Telugu Malyalam
Nonresidents ranked the U.S. as a top place to live, behind Australia and Canada
"Please indicate up to the top 3 countries in the world that are, in your opinion, the best places to live from the list below."
Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, home country excluded (%)
50
Rank 3 Rank 2 34 27
Rank 1
25
24 21 14 13 13 11
4 Brazil
2 China
2 Hong Kong
Canada
Switzerland
France
Japan
Singapore
Australia
Italy
The Netherlands
Germany
Sweden
New Zealand
Denmark
Question: "Please indicate up to the 3 countries in the world that are, in your opinion, the "best places to live" from the list below. Please place a "1" next to the country that is best to live in, a "2" next to the country that is second best to live in, and a "3" next to the country that is third best to live in." Note: Responses from home country excluded; respondents normalized to 2,500 per country Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
Norway
Finland
Spain
US
UK
Americans selected English-speaking countries as their favorite places to live and the U.S. as their #1 choice by far
Percentage of respondents selecting each country, US respondents only (%)
100
43 81
75
Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1
50
38
35 20 14 13 10 10 10 8 7
Japan
25
7
Denmark
6
The Netherlands
5
Brazil
4
Mexico
0
US Canada Australia UK Switzerland Italy Sweden New Zealand France Germany
Question: "Please indicate up to the 3 countries in the world that are, in your opinion, the "best places to live" from the list below. Please place a "1" next to the country that is best to live in, a "2" next to the country that is second best to live in, and a "3" next to the country that is third best to live in." Note: US was surveyed in English and is representative of acculturated Hispanic population in US, but not the solely Spanish speaking population in the US Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment, 2013
Of all the respondents, EU residents ranked their home countries on the lower end, with the exception of Germany
Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, home country rank only (%)
100
94 84 81 81 71 71 67
Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1 65
75
50
48
44
25
25
Australia
Canada
Japan
US
Germany
India
Brazil
UK
France
Spain
Italy
Question: "Please indicate up to the 3 countries in the world that are, in your opinion, the "best places to live" from the list below. Please place a "1" next to the country that is best to live in, a "2" next to the country that is second best to live in, and a "3" next to the country that is third best to live in." Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
54
Climate, healthcare, education and economic opportunity were key reasons overall when ranking countries #1
When country is ranked number 1
Reasons selected when countries ranked number 1 (%) Climate Quality of natural environment Economic opportunity/material wellbeing Work/life balance Accessible healthcare Quality education Strong rule of law/public safety Reasons Quality healthcare Political freedom Cost of living Sense of community/belonging Lower governmental, military and corporate corruption Tolerance for many cultures or religions Life expectancy Gender equality Other 43 42 32 30 20 17 17 14 13 13 11 10 10 10 5 2 12 36 22 17 41 29 19 26 14 12 12 9 21 7 8 2 16 9 41 21 10 29 19 16 35 17 16 8 24 9 9 5 6 10 45 20 29 33 26 35 17 13 6 15 8 10 6 4 7 16 16 17 50 33 20 27 20 9 18 12 19 8 6 6 22 23 8 22 45 27 11 39 22 7 11 5 14 17 6 4 58 37 6 17 26 13 5 14 12 10 24 3 12 22 3 12 33 17 14 16 40 18 44 21 11 6 8 6 13 10 3 11 75 17 4 18 29 10 6 27 8 21 14 1 12 23 10 8 62 23 20 15 5 5 1 1 26 26 7 0 43 18 12 9 31 16 15 14 14 29 0 10 7 33 33 11 36 23 2 8
Survey question: "Please indicate up to the top 3 reasons why you selected _________ as the best country to live in. Select up to 3." Note: China didn't see the question Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment survey June, 2013
Reasons cited by respondents overall for ranking these countries as their #1 place to live, in order of importance (I)
Australia Canada US Germany UK
Climate Natural environment Economic opportunity/ material wellbeing Work/life balance
Accessible healthcare Natural environment Quality education Quality healthcare
Economic opportunity/material well-being Political freedom
Economic opportunity/ material wellbeing Quality healthcare
Accessible healthcare Quality education Quality healthcare

Quality education Quality education Tolerance for many cultures and/or religions Accessible healthcare Strong rule of law/public safety
Survey question: "Please indicate up to the top 3 reasons why you selected _________ as the best country to live in. Select up to 3." Note: This shows the top reasons cited by respondents who chose these countries as their top country to live in, across all of the 11 countries Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
Reasons cited by respondents overall for ranking these countries as their #1 place to live, in order of importance (II)
France Header
Accessible healthcare Quality healthcare Quality education
Italy Header
Climate Natural environment Accessible healthcare Sense of community/ of belonging Life expectancy
Japan Header
Strong rule of law/public safety Accessible healthcare Climate
Spain Header
Climate Accessible healthcare Quality healthcare Life expectancy
Brazil Header
Economic opportunity/ material wellbeing Climate Political Freedom Cost of living
India Header
Tolerance for many cultures and/or religions
Sense of community/ of belonging Cost of living Climate
Tolerance for many cultures and/or religions
Quality education
Survey question: "Please indicate up to the top 3 reasons why you selected _________ as the best country to live in. Select up to 3." Note: All respondents ranking corresponding country number 1 place to live Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
Americans placed a lower emphasis on economic opportunity, cost of living, and education than nonresidents
"Please indicate up to the top 3 reasons why you selected ________ as the best country to live in. Select up to 3."
Percentage of respondents who ranked U.S. number 1 selecting each reason U.S. respondents
Political freedom Economic opportunity/material wellbeing Tolerance for many cultures or religions Quality education Quality healthcare Strong rule of law/public safety Work / life balance Sense of community/belonging Accessible healthcare Climate Cost of living Gender equality Life expectancy Quality of natural environment Other Lower gov corruption, military and corporate corruption
0 51 32 30 26 20 18 17 16 14 12 11 11 9 8 6 5 20 40 60 80
4 11 11 22 25 15 5 21 26 7 10 10
Non-resident respondents (excluding U.S.)

13 53 15 33
nonresidents have very different reasons
20
40
60
80
Valid cases (%)

Survey question: "Please indicate up to the top 3 reasons why you selected _________ as the best country to live in. Select up to 3." Note: Normalized to 2,500 respondents per country Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
Valid cases (%)
The U.S. was the most popular place to live among respondents in the RDEs1 of Brazil and India
(%)
40
Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, home country excluded

37 31 22
Developed
21 16 15 13 12 Rank 3 10 9 7 7 7 6 4
Spain
20
Rank 2 Rank 1
0
Australia Canada US Switzerland New Zealand Sweden Germany UK Denmark Norway France Finland The Netherlands Italy
(%) Brazil and India1

40
32 22 20 19 16 Rank 3 10 9 9 9 7
Spain
20
14
6
New Zealand
6
China
Rank 2 4
Sweden
4
Russia
Rank 1
0
United States Australia Canada Switzerland Japan Singapore Germany France Italy UK
1. RDE (rapidly developing economies) respondents include India and Brazil Question: "Please indicate up to the 3 countries in the world that are, in your opinion, the "best places to live" from the list below. Please place a "1" next to the country that is best to live in, a "2" next to the country that is second best to live in, and a "3" next to the country that is third best to live in." Note: Responses from home country excluded; respondents normalized to 2,500 per country Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
10
U.S. Millennials showed a much stronger interest in living in the U.K., Italy, France, and Japan than their elders
Generations
Millennial (%)
100
78 34
Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, US respondents only

28 27 19 14 14 11 8 7 7 5 5 5 4
Gen-X
100
79 39 36
Millennials have more interest in EU countries (UK, Italy and France) than older generations 17 16 13 13 12 9 8 7 7 5 5 4
Boomers
100
82 41 39 17
Perhaps unsurprisingly, UK higher in US ranking versus global ranking 15 11 10
Boomers and Silents feel strongest about living in US

100
89 45 43 20 13 10 10 7 5 5 4 4 4 4 3
Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1
Silents
Question: "Please indicate up to the 3 countries in the world that are, in your opinion, the "best places to live" from the list below. Please place a "1" next to the country that is best to live in, a "2" next to the country that is second best to live in, and a "3" next to the country that is third best to live in." Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
11
Little variance seen in rankings among men and women in developed countries; more among RDE1 respondents
(%) Female
50 0
Australia Canada Switzerland United States New Zealand Sweden UK Germany Denmark Norway 34
Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, home respondents excluded

28 21 20 14 14 11 11 9 9
Developed
50
34
28
21
18
16 New Zealand
14 Sweden
Male
12 Germany
10 UK
9 Denmark
8 Norway
0
Australia Canada United States Switzerland
50
30
22
Female
19
18
16 Singapore
16 Japan
10 Italy
10 France
8 Germany
8 UK
Brazil and India1
0
US Australia Canada Switzerland
Rank 3
50
35
23
23
20
17
14 Germany
Rank 2 10 Singapore 10 UK 9 Spain 9 France Rank 1
Male
0
US Canada Australia Switzerland Japan
RDE males favor US more than females

1. RDE (rapidly developing economies) respondents include India and Brazil Question: "Please indicate up to the 3 countries in the world that are, in your opinion, the "best places to live" from the list below. Please place a "1" next to the country that is best to live in, a "2" next to the country that is second best to live in, and a "3" next to the country that is third best to live in." Note: Responses from home country excluded; respondents normalized to 2,500 per country Source: BCG Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2013
12
Summary of key findings from the global analysis (I)

Key themes
Australia, Canada, U.S. and Switzerland are ranked as top countries to live in by respondents in 11 countries EU countries rank in the middle of the Top 20, and Asian countries toward the end of the Top 20, when excluding home country
Supporting detail
34% of global respondents ranked Australia as a top 3 country to live in (excluding their home country), 27% ranked Canada in the top 3, 24% ranked U.S. in the top 3, and 21% ranked Switzerland in the top 3, driven by German residents Home countries excluded in overall ranking Rankings 6-12 are European countries, namely Sweden, Germany, UK, Denmark, Norway, France and Italy Japan at 7% of respondents enters Top 20 at 13, Singapore at 14 with 6% of respondents, China at 19 with 2% of respondents, and Hong Kong at 20 with 2% of respondents Thailand, Austria and Portugal, Ireland and Costa Rica lead top write-ins, but none make Top 20 Home countries excluded 94% of Australian respondents ranked Australia as a top 3 place to live, followed by Canada, U.S. and Japan at 81-84% ranking their home country as a top 3 place to live, followed by Germany, India and Brazil, all above the 65% mean 53% of UK respondents ranked UK as a top 3 place to live, 48% of France respondents ranked France as a top place to live, 44% of Spain respondents ranked Spain as top place to live, and 25% of Italy respondents ranked Italy as a top place to live 54% of UK residents ranked Australia as a top 3 place to live Italy residents ranked Italy behind Australia and Switzerland as a top place to live 32% ranked U.S. a top 3 place to live, 22% ranked Australia as a top 3 place to live, and 20% ranked Canada as a top place to live Residents of rapidly developing economies of Brazil and India ranked Japan (16% respondents ranked Japan as top 3 place to live), Singapore and China in their Top 15 Home countries excluded Variance reported among U.S. Millennials (ages 16-34 in 2011), but little variance in non-Millennial generations (i.e., Gen X, Boomers and Silents) U.S. Millennials ranked EU countries such as UK, Italy and France higher than older generations; also ranked Japan materially higher than older generations, as do Australian Millennials Not surprisingly, U.S. Boomers and Silents felt even more strongly that U.S. is a top place to live 25% of Australians aged 18-34 and 18% aged 35-49 ranked U.S. as their top 3 places to live 35-49 year old Australians ran Switzerland higher than other generations Australian Boomers and Silents had much higher concentration in Top 3 countries Canadian Millennials had more interest in EU countries, like U.S. Millennials 25% of Germans aged 18-34 ranked the U.S. a top 3 place to live, highest of the German generations 13
Residents in the rapidly developing economies of Brazil and India rank the U.S. a top country to live in
Little variance in the rankings of men and women from 9 developed economies. More variance in ranks 5-10 of the Top 10 from Brazil and India Younger generations in Australia and Germany are showing more interest in U.S. than older generations; interestingly, younger U.S. generations express greater interest in EU countries than older U.S. generations
Residents of UK and Italy rank other countries as better places than UK and Italy, respectively; EU 5 except Germany below mean for ranking home country as top place to live
Global rank
Summary of key findings from the global analysis (II)

Key themes
Of the 11-country respondents that rank Australia, Canada, U.S. and Switzerland as a top 3 place to live, reasons for ranking differ by country
Supporting detail
Australia: Climate, accessible healthcare, quality of natural environment, political freedom, quality healthcare and work-life balance were key reasons cited for ranking Australia a top place to live Canada: Accessible healthcare, quality healthcare, quality education, natural environment, and tolerance for many cultures or religions were key reasons cited for ranking Canada a top place to live U.S.: By comparison, political freedom, relative economic opportunity/material well-being, tolerance for many cultures or religions, quality education, and quality healthcare were key reasons for ranking U.S. as a top place to live Switzerland: relative economic opportunity/material well-being, natural environment, strong rule of law, work/life balance, and quality education were key reasons for ranking Switzerland as a top place to live 43% of nonresidents ranked economic opportunity/material wellbeing as a top 3 reason for ranking Australia a top place to live, versus Australians at 17% 18% of nonresidents ranked strong rule of law/public safety as a top 3 reason for ranking Australia a top place to live, versus Australians at 15% 27% of nonresidents ranked work-life balance as a top 5 reason for ranking Canada a top place to live versus 10% of Canadian residents, and 50% ranked quality of natural environment as top reason versus Canadians at 26% 37% of nonresidents ranked economic opportunity as a top 3 reason for ranking Canada a top place to live versus 12% of Canadian respondents, and 22% of nonresidents listed strong rule of law/public safety as a top 5 reason versus 17% of Canadian residents 26% of nonresidents ranked cost of living, 25% ranked work/life balance, and 22% ranked strong rule of law/public safety versus 11%, 17%, and 18% of Americans, respectively 53% of nonresidents ranked economic opportunity/material well-being as a top 3 reason for ranking U.S. a top place to live versus 32% of American residents
Rationale
Nonresidents add economic opportunity, worklife balance, and strong rule of law/public safety to residents' key reasons for Australia Quality of natural environment, strong rule of law/public safety, economic opportunity, and work/life balance rank higher for nonresidents than Canadian residents
Resident reasons for U.S. as top country to live vary from nonresidents, except relative economic opportunity and availability of quality education
14
This research is part of BCG's global Consumer Sentiment series
Authors of the Best Countries Analysis

Christine Barton Partner Dallas [email protected] Chris Harlan Principal Dallas [email protected]
Selected Publications
A Change of Pace in Chinese Consumer Sentiment A report by The Boston Consulting Group June 2013 Traveling with Millennials A report by The Boston Consulting Group March 2013 Millennial Passions: Food, Fashion, and Friends A report by The Boston Consulting Group November 2012 Recession Mentality Deeply Engrained A report by The Boston Consulting Group July 2012 The Millennial Consumer A report by The Boston Consulting Group April 2012
15
bcg.com | bcgperspectives.com

Best Country Analysis US Overview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Best Country Analysis US Overview

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Best Country Analysis US Overview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP

Best Countries to Live in

Summary of key U.S. findings

BCG surveyed nearly 28,000 consumers in 11 countries

3,099 English French

2,502 English (localized)

2,539 English (localized)

A total of 27,620 consumers spanned both developed and developing economies

Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1

Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1 65

Climate Natural environment Economic opportunity/ material wellbeing Work/life balance

Accessible healthcare Natural environment Quality education Quality healthcare

Economic opportunity/material well-being Political freedom

Economic opportunity/ material wellbeing Quality healthcare

Accessible healthcare Quality education Quality healthcare

Sense of community/ of belonging Cost of living Climate

Tolerance for many cultures and/or religions

Non-resident respondents (excluding U.S.)

nonresidents have very different reasons

Valid cases (%)

Valid cases (%)

Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, home country excluded

(%) Brazil and India1

Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, US respondents only

Perhaps unsurprisingly, UK higher in US ranking versus global ranking 15 11 10

Boomers and Silents feel strongest about living in US

Rank 3 Rank 2 Rank 1

Percentage of respondents selecting each reason, home respondents excluded

Brazil and India1

Rank 2 10 Singapore 10 UK 9 Spain 9 France Rank 1

RDE males favor US more than females

Summary of key findings from the global analysis (I)

Summary of key findings from the global analysis (II)

This research is part of BCG's global Consumer Sentiment series

Authors of the Best Countries Analysis

You might also like