World Citizenship Report 2024 by CS Global Partners released amid global elections

London: The highly anticipated World Citizenship Report 2024 by CS Global Partners, the world’s leading advisory and citizenship Marketing Firm, has been released. The 3rd edition of WCR focuses on the upcoming global elections and is themed “responsibility amid electoral change”, reflecting the thoughts of high-net-worth individuals regarding the current electoral scenario.  

This year the World Citizenship Report has been released at a crucial time, as Bangladesh, India, the UK, the  EU and the US will be conducting elections and eventually half of the world’s population will be voting in various elections. So as to mark this greatest democratic moment in history, CS Global Partners focused on Global Electoral Responsibility.

The WCR is an outcome of the collaborative effort of industry-first methodology and CS Global Partners’ vast experience in the citizenship solutions industry. The report uses five key motivators to evaluate the value of citizenship: Safety and Security, Economic Opportunity, Quality of Life, Global Mobility, and Financial Freedom. These motivators reflect what global citizens, particularly high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), prioritize when considering citizenship.

During the external research for the World Citizenship Index, WCR assesses 188 countries based on the top five motivators of citizenship that are desired by global citizens. The report provides data-driven insights into the value of citizenship and what different countries offer in terms of security, economics, and mobility.

According to the report, this year’s top scorer in citizenship rankings, the Republic of Ireland, notably scored highly by collecting 86.6 points for its safe and stable society, growing economy, and financial freedom. The country is known for its lush natural environment, growth-centered economy, and democratic stability. Last year’s top scorer, Denmark (ranked third on this year), also received top marks for Quality of Life, Financial Freedom, and Safety and Security.

Download the World Citizenship Report 2024 by CS Global Partners.

The 2024 WCR surveyed HNWIs from around the world, taking note of their needs and interests when considering citizenship, political change, and economics. WCR mentions that HNWIs have set quality of life and safety as their top priority when considering a second citizenship.

‘We expect to see considerable change in the global landscape. Elections will bring about change, with the hope of positive innovation and a chance for enhanced geopolitical stability. The 2024 World Citizenship Report improves upon previous editions as we confront global challenges faced by global citizens head-on. Our Report has never been more relevant and important,’ stated Micha Emmett, CEO of CS Global Partners, during the launch.

Breakdown of WCR 2024 on the basis of motivators

Quality Of Life: The results show that HNWIs consider ‘Quality of Life’ as the most important factor when considering citizenship.  36.9 percent of the participants chose Quality of life over anything else. Monaco, Denmark, and Hong Kong took the top three spots for Quality of Life in 2024, reflecting the high standard of living and wealth these jurisdictions can extend to all their citizens.

The respondents on being asked, In what areas, if any, do you feel your current government is failing, highest concern among respondents is the Quality and affordable healthcare and 55% voted for it, followed by Environmental sustainability and Good education.

Safety And Security: The results show that safety is continued to be the important factor for the HNWIs. The report mentions, “As wars broke out in the Middle East and continued in Europe, safety and security continued to be an important factor for HNWIs. These wars, which are already becoming important electoral touchpoints in global elections, are present in HNWIs’ concerns around seeking safety and security amid global turmoil. When asked ‘what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word citizenship?’, our survey respondents overwhelmingly indicated that ‘rights under the law’ and ‘safety’ were the primary concerns.”

Iceland and Switzerland have topped the Safety and Security motivator with a 97.1 score, Denmark being the fourth.

Economic Opportunity: Compared to the past year’s economy, 2024 looks to be a year defined by economic resilience, with some risk posed by impending electoral change.

Each year the small economies stood out in the growth projections, as captured by the WCR Economic Opportunity motivator findings. Ireland, the top scorer in WCR Economic Opportunity findings, features a high GDP per capita and falling inflation rates.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), GDP growth is expected to outstrip global growth, with projections putting growth at 5 per cent. The country has a high GDP per capita, and a tiny unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent.

More broadly, the world is recovering from an acute cost-of-living crisis brought about by high inflation rates, though there is some evidence that this cost-of living crisis has continued.

Download the World Citizenship Report 2024 by CS Global Partners.

Despite all these threats the economic growth looks promising this year as Ireland has been ranked 1^st with 83.4 score and Australia ranked 10^th with 71.2.

Global Mobility: On being asked “which of the following aspects is most important to you”, 40.5% of respondents chose Freedom to travel for leisure/pleasure with their second passport. The last choice being the Freedom to travel for medical reasons.

WCR quotes the HNWIS choice as, “Freedom of travel for leisure/pleasure was the top consideration, which indicates that having time to explore and enjoy a country is important to HNWIs seeking a second citizenship. Moreover, this year the freedom to travel for ‘leisure/pleasure’ option was some 18 percentage points ahead of the previous leading aspect of safety/security’, again underlining its primacy”.

The 4 countries, France, Germany, Italy and Singapore have scored an exceptional 91.7 and have been ranked 1^st in Global Mobility motivator.

Financial Freedom: In terms of Financial Freedom Denmark clinched top rank with a score of 83.9 followed by Singapore with 83.3, least scorer being Netherlands in the list with 78.2.

This year’s WCR survey found that 40.5 percent of respondents indicated the ability to more effectively manage their investments, portfolio diversification, and wealth planning would be a prime motivator for second citizenship. This outstripped last year’s top priority, pursuing work and employment opportunities, by 5.5 percent.

Download the World Citizenship Report 2024 by CS Global Partners. 

The WCR 2024 is a well-researched report that shares the Global outlook on businesses, High-net-worth individuals, the investment immigration industry, Global Citizenship, and geopolitical instability.

The WCR 2024 explores the intersection between obligation and choice and is developed with a data-driven approach to understanding citizenship.