12/30/23, 6:27 PM The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

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12/30/23, 6:27 PM The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

Leaders | The centre can hold

The Economist’s
country of the year
for 2023
It is possible to enact painful economic reforms
and still get re-elected

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12/30/23, 6:27 PM The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

image: francesco ciccolella

Dec 20th 2023 Share

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H istorians will not look back on 2023 as a happy year for humanity. Wars blazed,
autocratic regimes swaggered and in many countries strongmen flouted laws and
curbed liberty. This is the grim backdrop to our annual “country of the year” award. If
our prize was for the resilience of ordinary people in the face of horror, there would be
an abundance of candidates, from the Palestinians and Israelis in their bitter conflict to
the Sudanese fleeing as their country implodes.

Yet since we started naming countries of the year in 2013, we have sought to recognise
something different: the place that has improved the most. The search for a bright spot
in a bleak world led some of our staff to despair and propose Barbie Land, the fictional
pink utopia of a Hollywood blockbuster. But in real life, there are two sets of countries
that deserve recognition in 2023.

The first includes places that have stood up to bullying by autocratic neighbours. One
cannot say that life in Ukraine improved but the country valiantly continued its
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12/30/23, 6:27 PM The Economist’s country of the year for 2023
cannot say that life in Ukraine improved, but the country valiantly continued its
struggle against Vladimir Putin’s war machine, despite wobbling by its Western
supporters. Moldova resisted Russian intimidation. Finland joined the nato alliance
and Sweden will follow soon. In Asia a number of countries held their nerve in the face
of Chinese aggression, often in collaboration with America. The Philippines defended
its maritime boundaries, and the law of the sea, against much bigger Chinese ships. In
August Japan and South Korea put aside their historical grievances to deepen their co-
operation. The island state of Tuvalu, with a population of 11,000, has just signed a
treaty with Australia that insures its population against climate change and includes a
security guarantee to prevent it from falling under China’s thumb.

Our second group of countries defended democracy or liberal values at home. Fragile,
war-scarred Liberia managed a peaceful transfer of power. So did Timor-Leste, which
maintained its reputation for respecting human rights and a free press. In some mid-
sized countries, such as Thailand and Turkey, hope flickered as the opposition pushed
hard to eject autocratic regimes, but those regimes held on at elections skewed in their
favour.

Three countries stand out for turning back to moderation after a walk on the wild side.
Brazil swore in a centre-left president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after four years of
mendacious populism under Jair Bolsonaro, who spread divisive conspiracy theories,
coddled trigger-happy cops, supported rainforest-torching farmers, refused to accept
electoral defeat and encouraged his devotees to attempt an insurrection. The new
administration quickly restored normality—and reduced the pace of deforestation in
the Amazon by nearly 50%. Brazil’s impressive record was marred, however, by Lula’s
habit of cosying up to Mr Putin and Venezuela’s despot, Nicolás Maduro. As a result,
Brazil misses out on the award.
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12/30/23, 6:27 PM The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

Poland had a remarkable 2023: its economy withstood the shock of the war next door; it
continued to host nearly 1m Ukrainian refugees; and to deter Russia it raised its defence
spending to above 3% of gdp, giving its stingy nato peers an example to emulate. The
country’s biggest problem has been the dominance of the populist-nationalist Law and
Justice (pis) party, which has run the government for the past eight years, eroding the
independence of the courts, stuffing state media with lackeys and nurturing crony
capitalism. In October voters dumped pis in favour of an array of opposition parties. It
is early days for a new coalition government, led by Donald Tusk, a veteran centrist, but
if it does a good job of mending the damage pis did to democratic institutions, Poland
will be a strong candidate for our prize next year.

That leaves our winner, Greece. Ten years ago it was crippled by a debt crisis and
ridiculed on Wall Street. Incomes had plunged, the social contract was fraying and
extremist parties of the left and right were rampant. The government grew so desperate
that it cuddled up to China and later sold its main port, Piraeus, to a Chinese firm. Today
Greece is far from perfect. A rail crash in February exposed corruption and shoddy
infrastructure; a wire-tapping scandal and the mistreatment of migrants suggested civil
liberties can be improved.

But after years of painful restructuring, Greece topped our annual ranking of rich-world
economies in 2023. Its centre-right government was re-elected in June. Its foreign
policy is pro-America, pro-eu and wary of Russia. Greece shows that from the verge of
collapse it is possible to enact tough, sensible economic reforms, rebuild the social
contract, exhibit restrained patriotism—and still win elections. With half the world due
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12/30/23, 6:27 PM
, p The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

to vote in 2024, democrats everywhere should pay heed. 7

Explore more Ukraine Brazil Turkey Japan South Korea Sweden

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "The centre can hold"

Leaders
December 23rd 2023

→ How to detoxify the politics of migration

→ The US Navy confronts a new Suez crisis

→ Economists had a dreadful 2023

→ The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

→ Technology is helping Santa Claus come to town more efficiently

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12/30/23, 6:27 PM The Economist’s country of the year for 2023

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