Ghana ranks 68th in the list of best countries to live in

• The top five is made up of Switzerland, Canada, Britain, Germany and Japan
  
  
  
• Ghana is ranked 68th from 79 countries
  
  
  
• Nigeria ranked 77th; Kenya 61st; South Africa 38th
  
  
  
• The US fell from fourth to seventh, as a result of Trump entering the White House

Ghana has been named as the 68th best country in the world to live in according to a new report. Switzerland is the best, while Germany fell from top spot to fourth.

The list - 2017 Best Countries - is now in its second year and rankings evaluate nations' cultural influence, heritage, power and quality of life among other things to come up with a score.

The scores are then pitted against each other to come up with a definitive list of the best countries in the world.

Only nine African countries were analysed: Ghana(#68), Nigeria(#77), Angola(#75), South Africa(#38), Tanzania(#59), Kenya(#61), Egypt(#45), Algeria(#78), Morocco(#48)

Canada missed out to Switzerland in the top spot with Britain in third, Germany in fourth and Japan making up the top five.

It will be a blow to the Germans, who topped last year's list created by experts from US News and World Report, Y&R's BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Germany was downgraded due to a range of events, including the growing public fear over the influx of migrants and the string of deadly terror attacks in 2016.

The US also fell down the pecking order from fourth to seventh.

Although the report considered the US the world's most powerful nation, 75 percent of the survey's respondents said they lost respect for the leadership in the White House after Donald Trump was elected.

It holds on to its most powerful tag, beating off the competition on Russia in second.

The US is sandwiched by Sweden in sixth and Australia in eighth in the top ten best countries on the planet, with France in ninth and Norway in 10th.

Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of US News said: 'We wanted to capture how tumultuous political change can affect a country's perceived standing in the world.

'Similar to what we have done with hospitals, universities and other institutions, the best countries portal pairs fact-based metrics with storytelling to help citizens, business leaders and governments better evaluate their countries and make sense of a range of important global issues.'

The list - 2017 Best Countries - is compiled using data gathered from a perception survey which was conducted after the US presidential election.

The top of of the list is dominated - as it was last year - by Nordic nations known for their forward thinking social and environmental policies with Finland and Denmark joining Sweden and Norway in the top 15.

Asian and Middle Eastern countries appear to be economical sleeping giants in the list, with the United Arab Emirates ranked top for up-and-coming economies and Thailand is considered the best country to start a business in.

Malaysia is seen as the best country to invest in.

Elsewhere, the list says that Panama is world's most business-friendly nation while Canada is the best place on the planet for quality of life and education.

The number-one destination for visiting is Brazil and the country with the richest tradition is Italy for the second successive year.

John Gerzema, chairman and CEO of Y&R's BAV Consulting, told US News: 'Our data captured widespread global concern for the social and geopolitical changes that cast many nations into uncertainty and turmoil.

'The new rankings reflect people's desire to restore some sense of order by rewarding nations they perceive as championing neutrality, stability and diplomacy.'

As well as ranking the nations in terms of their qualities, the survey also throws up interesting worldwide trends.

The recurring theme among those taking part in the survey was the election of Republican Donald Trump.

His competition - Democrat Hillary Clinton - won the popular vote in the US and would have done if it was a global election, judging by the responses.

But, in many countries, Trump would have walked the vote.

In Russia, 83 percent of the survey viewed him favourably as well as 54 percent of the Chinese respondents.

He also polled well in Israel with 46 percent of respondents liking him, 42 percent in Nigeria and 37 percent in Turkey.

The top issues facing the world, according to the report, is gender inequality, climate change and the war in Syria while only a small portion of the feedback mentioned the gap in people's incomes.

Given the contentious election of Donald Trump as President of the US, nearly two-thirds believed there was a leadership crisis in the world today.

Almost three-quarters said a new generation of leaders is needed across the globe.