US Tops WEO Global Competitiveness Rankings
The United States took the top overall ranking in The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008, just released by the World Economic Forum.
The WEO also changed its methodology and revised its rankings for 2006-7. The US was originally ranked sixth last year but the revised assessment puts it in first place last year as well. Last year’s original winner Switzerland, was revised down to fourth place in 2006-7 but climbed back to second place this year. Rounding out the top six this year were Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Finland.
Singapore took over from Japan as the top Asian economy in seventh place, while Japan dropped to eighth. The United Kingdom was ninth, followed by the Netherlands.
The United States confirms its position as the most competitive economy in the world. The efficiency of the country’s markets, the sophistication of its business community, the impressive capacity for technological innovation that exists within a first-rate system of universities and research centres, all contribute to making the United States a highly competitive economy. However, some weaknesses, particularly related to macroeconomic imbalances, continue to present a risk to the country’s overall competitiveness potential, and to the global economy as a whole.
Chile is the highest ranked country in Latin America, followed by Mexico and Costa Rica. China and India continue to lead the way among large developing economies. Several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are in the upper half of the rankings, led by Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In sub-Saharan Africa, only South Africa and Mauritius feature in the top half of the rankings, with several countries from the region positioned at the very bottom.
The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries covered by the Report.
This year, over 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 131 countries. The survey is designed to capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy’s business climate. The Report also includes comprehensive listings of the main strengths and weaknesses of countries, making it possible to identify key priorities for policy reform.
The report can be downloaded or viewed interactively here.
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