Editoria e Media
IMD World Competitiveness Ranking: Singapore Topples United States as World's Most Competitive Economy
The initial boost to confidence from President Donald Trump's first wave of tax policies appears to have faded in the United States , according to the ranking. While still setting the pace globally for levels of infrastructure and economic performance, the competitiveness of the world's biggest economy was hit by higher fuel prices, weaker hi-tech exports and fluctuations in the value of the dollar.
" ," said Arturo Bris, IMD Professor and Director of IMD World Competitiveness Center, the research center which compiles the ranking.
Economists regard competitiveness as vital for the long-term health of a country's economy as it empowers businesses to achieve sustainable growth, generate jobs and, ultimately, enhance the welfare of citizens.
The World Competitiveness Rankings, established in 1989 at IMD business school, incorporate 235 indicators from each of the 63 ranked economies. The ranking takes into account a wide range of "hard" statistics such as unemployment, GDP and government spending on health and education, as well as "soft" data from an Executive Opinion Survey covering topics such as social cohesion, globalization and corruption.
Switzerland climbed to fourth place from fifth, helped by economic growth, the stability of the Swiss franc and high-quality infrastructure.
This year's biggest climber was Saudi Arabia , which jumped 13 places to 26 .
The top 10 countries are Singapore , Hong Kong SAR, USA , Switzerland , UAE (up from 15 in 2016), Netherlands , Ireland , Denmark , Sweden , and Qatar .
Venezuela remains anchored to the bottom of the ranking, hit by inflation, poor access to credit and a weak economy.
- Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -
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Lucy Jay-Kennedy
IMD business school, Head of Media Relations
Tel: +41 21 618 0811
Lucy.Jay-Kennedy@imd.org
Aïcha Besser
IMD business school, Global Media Relations
Tel: +41 21 618 0507
Aicha.Besser@imd.org