The 2017 Best Countries rankings, formed in partnership with global marketing communications company Y&R's brand strategy firm, BAV Consulting, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, are based on a survey that asked more than 21,000 people from four regions to associate 80 countries with specific characteristics.

The Cultural Influence subranking is based on an equally weighted average of scores from seven country attributes that relate to a country's cultural influence: culturally significant in terms of entertainment, fashionable, happy, has an influential culture, modern, prestigious and trendy. The Cultural Influence subranking score had a 14 percent weight in the overall Best Countries ranking.