Syria, which teetered on the brink of collapse as dictator Bashar al-Assad fended off armed rebellions for more than a decade, is the Economist’s choice for country of the year.
The magazine, which officially calls itself a newspaper, said the choice is based on which country improved the most in the course of the year.
It said the choice excludes the happiest country as that would mean one of the Scandinavian countries.
And it could not choose the most influential either because “that would always be a superpower”.
“We try to identify the country that has improved the most, whether economically, politically or in any other way that matters,” the magazine wrote in one of its editorials, also called leaders.
It said 2025 has been a turbulent year, with US President Donald Trump disrupting global trade and wars raging in Gaza and Sudan.
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But it noted several countries had navigated choppy waters well, citing Canada, which elected former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, whom it described as a “sober technocrat […] rather than a populist, and stood up to American bullying”.
Syria and Argentina remained the strongest contenders. Argentina stood out for strong gains on the economic front.
According to the Economist, Javier Milei, the country’s president, began far-reaching free-market reforms in 2023.
It noted that abolishing price controls, curbing spending and ditching distorting subsidies are exceptionally tough measures often resulting in immense pain.
“Many previous reformers have failed. Yet Mr Milei stuck to his chainsaw in 2025, and voters stuck with him,” wrote the magazine.
Turning to Syria, the Economist noted that little more than a year ago, it was ruled by Mr Assad, backed by Iran and Russia and that its jails were teeming with political prisoners.
Dissent, it added, was punished with torture or death.
The Economist said that when it chose country of the year in 2024, when Mr Assad was ousted, “it was too soon to have an idea of how the new Syria might look.”
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Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took over, was a jihadist, the magazine wrote, and “many feared he would impose a grim Islamist theocracy, or that Syria would collapse into chaos”.
But the magazine noted that neither has happened and that women are not obliged to cover up or stay at home. Entertainment and even alcohol are allowed.
“Mr Sharaa has brought about a series of positive surprises, holding the country together and forging good relations with America and the Gulf states,” the magazine wrote.
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