October 20, 2025 by Dan Mitchell @ International Liberty
I’ve shared a two-part video series (here and here) on the “improbable success” of Switzerland.
Building on that, here’s a report from CNBC about the “world’s best nation.”
There are many reasons to admire Switzerland.
- Most individual liberty
- Free-market economy
- Genuine federalism
- Modest tax burden
- Private retirement system
- Gun ownership
- Spending cap
- Limited redistribution
- Sensible voters
- Strong human rights
Today, let’s heap more praise on the Alpine Republic.
Some of it, surprisingly, from an article in the New York Times by Ruchir Sharma.
Here are some excerpts.
There is…a country far richer and just as fair as any in the Scandinavian trio of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. But no one talks about it. This $700 billion European economy is among the world’s 20 largest, significantly bigger than any in Scandinavia. It delivers…lighter taxes, smaller government, and a more open and stable economy. Steady growth recently made it the second richest nation in the world, …with an average income of $84,000, or $20,000 more than the Scandinavian average. …
This less socialist but more successful utopia is Switzerland. …Capitalist to its core, Switzerland imposes lighter taxes on individuals, consumers and corporations than the Scandinavian countries do. In 2018 its top income tax rate was the lowest in Western Europe at 36 percent, well below the Scandinavian average of 52 percent. Government spending amounts to a third of gross domestic product, compared with half in Scandinavia. …The Swiss have become the world’s richest nation by getting it right.
I’m not sure why the author wrote that Switzerland is “less socialist” while then soon after noting that the country is “capitalist to its core.”
That seems like “not socialist” to me, but overall, a fair article.
The Swiss also got some positive attention from the U.K.-based Economist, which ranked Switzerland as having the world’s most innovative economy.
And the OECD ranks Switzerland as having the best combination of political efficiency and democracy satisfaction.
Since I occasionally compare Switzerland and France, I think this visual is very compelling.
By the way, I’m assuming the slender Swiss document is in multiple languages, so the above image actually understates Switzerland’s advantage.
Last but not least, here’s a potential explanation for why Switzerland is so far ahead of its neighbors.
There are some versions of “right” that I don’t particularly like, so the most important part of the above visual is the last sentence.
In my simple way of thinking about the world, Switzerland is a case study for why “classical liberalism” is the best role model. Though nowadays it would be called small-government conservatism (or Reaganism) in the United States and “neoliberalism” in Europe.
P.S. As I wrote in 2011, I nonetheless prefer the United States over Switzerland.
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