copenhagen germany jump 10 slot last year fifth place list rank well rich countries policies help improve live develop world mainly thank willingness take refugees hot topic sept. 24 election denmark take top spot finland fall third place sweden move one notch second list include impact foreign aid policies trade finance migration environment technology germany move fifth 2017 index mainly thank policies migration include accept large number refugees author ian mitchell washington-based center global development say report labor mobility potentially powerful tool poverty reduction income redistribution say migrate rich countries workers gain valuable skills broaden opportunities earn high incomes also send billions dollars back home year remittances flow surpass foreign aid several fold chancellor angela merkel 2015 decision open germany border hundreds thousands refugees many flee war middle east cost support since bounce back challenger month election social democrat martin schulz attack sunday fail coordinate good european response refugee crisis report say germany surge rank thank take large influx also aid trade policies despite germany improvement france still rank high among g7 countries fourth place unite state fell 23rd 20th among 27 countries rank best performance trade security score poorly finance environment aid report say u.s. withdrawal paris climate accord reflect future years potentially take u.s. score low think tank say britain process negotiate departure european union jump seventh place ninth last year report say risk brexit could hit britain score trade unless could quickly replicate favorable eu trade policies toward develop countries however agriculture could certainly reduce subsidies compare eu level play field develop world producers 2017 rank show almost countries improve performance environmental component reductions greenhouse gas emissions new climate commitments 2016 paris agreement germany climb development rank take refugees