Which ones are correct and appropriate for academic and formal writing?
1.a) The country's rank dropped from 3 to 5.
1.b) The country's rank is 3.
2.a) The country's rank dropped from 3rd to 5th.
2.b) The country's rank is 3rd .
3.a) The country's rank dropped from number 3 to number 5.
3.b) The country's rank is number 3.
Does the answer differ if we substitute the word "rank" with "ranking" in these sentences?
Best Answer
All of those are grammatically correct.
Among your examples, both group 2 sentences with ordinal numbers are the most natural, however I think we can do even better.
When describing a country's change in rank, in most academic writing contexts, it should already be clear that we're talking about ranks, so you can probably drop the word when describing change:
If "rank" is required for clarity, then use 2a for changes in rank, and use "rank" as a verb to describe a country's current rank: