Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has topped the list among Middle Eastern countries and has ranked ninth globally in terms of power, according to the US News Best Countries rankings.
The ranking is based on five attributes ie: being a leader, economically influential, politically influential, strong international alliances and strong military.
US News noted how the United Arab Emirates was transformed with the discovery of oil in the 20th century.
US News also noted the popularity of the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi with tourists, despite its poor human-rights record.
The UAE scored its highest rating under the “economically influential” category at 90.9, while it scored 19.1 in the “strong army” rating.
The UAE rose one place from last year’s ranking.
The top 10 country rankings are as follows
| Rank | Country |
| 1 | United States of America |
| 2 | China |
| 3 | Russia |
| 4 | Germany |
| 5 | United Kingdom |
| 6 | South Korea |
| 7 | France |
| 8 | Japan |
| 9 | UAE |
| 10 | Israel |
Top six Middle East countries
| Rank | Country |
| 9 | UAE |
| 10 | Israel |
| 11 | Saudi Arabia |
| 17 | Turkey |
| 18 | Iran |
| 23 | Qatar |
