Malacanang on Sunday welcomed the latest US News and World Report 2019 Best Countries Ranking after the Philippines ranked 50th out of 80 countries.

This was despite one notch drop in the ranking as the country was at 49th place last year.

"We welcome the latest US News and World Report 2019 Best Countries Ranking which puts the Philippines at Number 50," said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a statement.

“The Duterte Administration continuously breaks ground to nurture the country's business climate and drive investor confidence to a higher level by cleansing the government of corrupt officials, streamlining the delivery of frontline services, among others,” he said.

The overall ranking of best countries global performance was measured on a variety of metrics which includes adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power and quality of life.

“We scored highly in adventure (ranked 22), open for business (ranked 26), and quality of life (ranked 37) underscoring that the Philippines is an emerging market for business, investments and tourism,” Panelo said.

The official said tourism, which is one of the country’s major economic drivers, is also a priority with focus now given on environmental sustainability.

“We are therefore confident that we would continue to improve our ranking as we remain committed to institute reforms for the betterment of the Philippines that we all love,” he said.

The report was released last January 23, with more than 21,000 global citizens, who acted as respondents in the survey.

Switzerland was at the top spot followed by Japan, Canada, Germany, and United Kingdom.

“American influence and ties remain prevalent in the Filipino society, although the relationship has become more strained since the 2016 election of President Rodrigo Duterte,” the report said.

“Recent government actions have boosted social spending in an effort to battle high unemployment and manage a rapidly growing population, a quarter of which lives below the poverty line,” it added.

The 2019 Best Countries report and rankings are based on how global perceptions define countries in terms of a number of qualitative characteristics, impressions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment and directly affect national economies. Ella Dionisio/DMS