An international survey has ranked Israel as the eighth most powerful nation in the world for the second consecutive year, narrowly ahead of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The annual survey by the US News & World Report was published during the weekend, based on the answers of more than 21,000 people from four regions.

The survey ranked 80 countries on a range of issues, including power, cultural influence, economy and entrepreneurship, with the categories adding up to an overall “best countries” ranking.

Israel was ranked 30th on the best countries list, the same ranking as last year, with Switzerland and Canada taking the first two slots.

But in the power ranking Israel was ranked inside the top ten, behind the United States, Russia, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Japan, in that order. Neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were ranked 9th and 10th, with fellow Middle Eastern countries Iran and Turkey ranked 13th and 14th.

“For its relatively small size, the country has played a large role in global affairs,” the magazine said in its description of Israel, which – following US President Donald Trump’s December recognition – listed Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel also made the top ten in the list of “movers” – up and coming economies – where it was ranked 10th. The UAE, India and Singapore were the three highest-ranked nations in that category, respectively.

The Jewish state was ranked lower in the rest of the categories: 25th in entrepreneurship, 29th in heritage, 33rd in citizenship, 35th in quality of life, 40th in cultural influence, 64th in openness for business and 70th in adventure.

by Michael Bachner, Times of Israel