Since I want all nations to follow the recipe for growth, I think economic rankings can be very instructive. This is why I try to write every year about the Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index.

The 2026 version tells us that Estonia is in first place, it’s normal position. France, unsurprisingly, is in last place. And the United States is (just barely) in the top half of nations.

Here are the full rankings.

The Index only looks at OECD member countries, so places that might rank above Estonia – such as Monaco, Cayman Islands, and Singapore – are not included.

Another interesting aspect of the report is that no nation gets good scores in every category. Indeed, the top-5 nations all score poorly (dark blue) in one category.

And the bottom-5 nations get an adequate score (light blue) in at least one category.

Keep in mind, also, that a country might not have a good tax system, but it may have other good economic policies. Iceland, for instance, has a very admirable private Social Security system even though its tax code leaves much to be desired.

For European readers, here’s a map showing the best and worst nations (green is best and dark blue is worst).

I’ll close by noting that changes over time deserve attention.

I first wrote about this report back in 2014. In that edition, the United States ranked in the bottom 5. Now the U.S. is in the top half. That’s the biggest improvement of any nation and perhaps Trump’s best accomplishment (though if trade taxes were included, one can only imagine how that would negatively affect the American score).

By contrast, Denmark has dropped from #17 to #31.

P.S. If you want to know why Estonia is in first place, key features include a flat tax and no double taxation of dividends.