http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competit..._2006/top50.pdf



Rank Country/Economy Score
1 Switzerland 5.81
2 Finland 5.76
3 Sweden 5.74
4 Denmark 5.70
5 Singapore 5.63
6 United States 5.61
7 Japan 5.60
8 Germany 5.58
9 Netherlands 5.56
10 United Kingdom 5.54
11 Hong Kong SAR 5.46
12 Norway 5.42
13 Taiwan, China 5.41
14 Iceland 5.40
15 Israel 5.38
16 Canada 5.37
17 Austria 5.32
18 France 5.31
19 Australia 5.29
20 Belgium 5.27
21 Ireland 5.21
22 Luxembourg 5.16
23 New Zealand 5.15
24 Korea, Rep. 5.13
25 Estonia 5.12
26 Malaysia 5.11
27 Chile 4.85
28 Spain 4.77
29 Czech Republic 4.74
30 Tunisia 4.71
31 Barbados 4.70
32 United Arab Emirates 4.66
33 Slovenia 4.64
34 Portugal 4.60
35 Thailand 4.58
36 Latvia 4.57
37 Slovak Republic 4.55
38 Qatar 4.55
39 Malta 4.54
40 Lithuania 4.53
41 Hungary 4.52
42 Italy 4.46
43 India 4.44
44 Kuwait 4.41
45 South Africa 4.36
46 Cyprus 4.36
47 Greece 4.33
48 Poland 4.30
49 Bahrain 4.28
50 Indonesia 4.26
Source: World Economic Forum

-----------------------------------
so, how many red(european countries) were there in top 50?

http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competit...06_rankings.pdf
in comparison, in full:

Country/Economy 2006 Rank 2006 Score 2005 Rank

Switzerland 1 5.81 4
Finland 2 5.76 2
Sweden 3 5.74 7
Denmark 4 5.70 3
Singapore 5 5.63 5
United States 6 5.61 1
Japan 7 5.60 10
Germany 8 5.58 6
Netherlands 9 5.56 11
United Kingdom 10 5.54 9
Hong Kong SAR 11 5.46 14
Norway 12 5.42 17
Taiwan, China 13 5.41 8
Iceland 14 5.40 16
Israel 15 5.38 23
Canada 16 5.37 13
Austria 17 5.32 15
France 18 5.31 12
Australia 19 5.29 18
Belgium 20 5.27 20
Ireland 21 5.21 21
Luxembourg 22 5.16 24
New Zealand 23 5.15 22
Korea, Rep. 24 5.13 19
Estonia 25 5.12 26
Malaysia 26 5.11 25
Chile 27 4.85 27
Spain 28 4.77 28
Czech Republic 29 4.74 29
Tunisia 30 4.71 37
Barbados 31 4.70 —
United Arab Emirates 32 4.66 32
Slovenia 33 4.64 30
Portugal 34 4.60 31
Thailand 35 4.58 33
Latvia 36 4.57 39
Slovak Republic 37 4.55 36
Qatar 38 4.55 46
Malta 39 4.54 44
Lithuania 40 4.53 34
Hungary 41 4.52 35
Italy 42 4.46 38
India 43 4.44 45
Kuwait 44 4.41 49
South Africa 45 4.36 40
Cyprus 46 4.36 41
Greece 47 4.33 47
Poland 48 4.30 43
Bahrain 49 4.28 50
Indonesia 50 4.26 69
Croatia 51 4.26 64
Jordan 52 4.25 42
Costa Rica 53 4.25 56
China 54 4.24 48
Mauritius 55 4.20 55
Kazakhstan 56 4.19 51
Panama 57 4.18 65
Mexico 58 4.18 59
Turkey 59 4.14 71
Jamaica 60 4.10 63
El Salvador 61 4.09 60
Russian Federation 62 4.08 53
Egypt 63 4.07 52
Azerbaijan 64 4.06 62
Colombia 65 4.04 58
Brazil 66 4.03 57
Trinidad and Tobago 67 4.03 66
Romania 68 4.02 67
Argentina 69 4.01 54
Morocco 70 4.01 76
Philippines 71 4.00 73
Bulgaria 72 3.96 61
Uruguay 73 3.96 70
Peru 74 3.94 77
Guatemala 75 3.91 95
Algeria 76 3.90 82
Vietnam 77 3.89 74
Ukraine 78 3.89 68
Sri Lanka 79 3.87 80
Macedonia, FYR 80 3.86 75
Botswana 81 3.79 72
Armenia 82 3.75 81
Dominican Republic 83 3.75 91
Namibia 84 3.74 79
Georgia 85 3.73 86
Moldova 86 3.71 89
Serbia and Montenegro 87 3.69 85
Venezuela 88 3.69 84
Bosnia and Herzegovina 89 3.67 88
Ecuador 90 3.67 87
Pakistan 91 3.66 94
Mongolia 92 3.60 90
Honduras 93 3.58 97
Kenya 94 3.57 93
Nicaragua 95 3.52 96
Tajikistan 96 3.50 92
Bolivia 97 3.46 101
Albania 98 3.46 100
Bangladesh 99 3.46 98
Suriname 100 3.45 —
Nigeria 101 3.45 83
Gambia 102 3.43 109
Cambodia 103 3.39 111
Tanzania 104 3.39 105
Benin 105 3.37 106
Paraguay 106 3.33 102
Kyrgyz Republic 107 3.31 104
Cameroon 108 3.30 99
Madagascar 109 3.27 107
Nepal 110 3.26 —
Guyana 111 3.24 108
Lesotho 112 3.22 —
Uganda 113 3.19 103
Mauritania 114 3.17 —
Zambia 115 3.16 —
Burkina Faso 116 3.07 —
Malawi 117 3.07 114
Mali 118 3.02 115
Zimbabwe 119 3.01 110
Ethiopia 120 2.99 116
Mozambique 121 2.94 112
Timor-Leste 122 2.90 113
Chad 123 2.61 117
Burundi 124 2.59 —
Angola 125 2.50 —

http://www.weforum.org/en/fp/GCR_0607_LopezClaro_/index.htm

One of the authors of The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007 shares his insight into the results, providing expert analysis of competitiveness and how it can enhance prosperity and growth.


Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist and Director, Global Competitiveness Programme

Point ofview
The top rankings of Switzerland and the Nordic countries show that good institutions and competent macroeconomic management, coupled with world-class educational attainment and a focus on technology and innovation, are a successful strategy for boosting competitiveness in an increasingly complex global economy.

"In many ways the Nordics have entered virtuous circles where various factors reinforce each other to make them among the most competitive economies in the world."
― Augusto Lopez-Claros

Interview Fragments :

Switzerland has knocked the United States off the top spot. What accounts for Switzerland’s rise up the competitiveness rankings to first position, and the US’s slide to 6th position?

RealPlayer : Low / Medium / High resolution
Windows MediaPlayer : Low / Medium resolution
QuickTime : Low / Medium resolution

(7 Q-A pairs in all, goto link)

http://www.weforum.org/pdf/pressreleases/usa.pdf

UNITED STATES IN 6TH PLACE IN THE WORLD ECONOMIC
FORUM’S 2006 COMPETITIVENESS RANKINGS
The US remains a powerhouse of technological innovation
Geneva, Switzerland 27 September 2006 – The United States is in sixth place in
the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) rankings for
2006-07, behind Switzerland, Finland and Sweden and just ahead of Japan. 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
constellation of universities and research centres, all contribute to make the United
States a highly competitive economy. However, a number of weaknesses,
particularly related to macroeconomic imbalances and the institutional
environment, are beginning to erode the country’s overall competitiveness
potential.
“The United States will remain, for the foreseeable future, one of the most
competitive economies in the world, reflecting the existence of a long pipeline of
innovation, nurtured by a first class system of higher education. However, two
areas are of some concern and if unattended could allow other countries–in a
highly competitive global economy–to challenge the US’s privileged position. First,
with potentially open-ended expenditure commitments linked to defence and homeland security, ongoing plans to
lower taxes further, as well as other longer-term potential claims on the budget, the prospects for sustained fiscal
adjustment seem not too bright. With a low savings rate, record-high current account deficits and a worsening of the
US’s net debtor position, there is a non-negligible risk to both the country’s overall competitiveness and, given the
relative size of the US economy, the future of the global economy. Second, while the US has, in general, an
excellent institutional framework, the quality of the country’s public institutions falls somewhat short of the levels of
transparency and efficiency seen in other OECD members,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist and Head
of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Network.
Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are the world’s most competitive economies according to the report. Denmark,
Singapore, the United States, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom complete the top ten list.
The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available hard data and the results of 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 125 economies worldwide. The survey
questionnaire is designed to capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy’s business climate that are
critical determinants of sustained economic growth. The Forum annually delivers a comprehensive overview of the
main strengths and weaknesses in a large number of countries, making it possible to identify key areas for policy
formulation and reform.

This year marks an important progression in The Global Competitiveness Report’s methodology, with the adoption of
a new, more comprehensive, tool to assess countries’ competitiveness: the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI).
Developed for the World Economic Forum by Professor Xavier Sala-i-Martin of Columbia University, the new index –
representing two years of collaboration with him and feedback from a broad set of users – extends and deepens the
concepts and ideas underpinning the earlier index used by the Forum.
“The introduction of the Global Competitiveness Index is a logical extension of the World Economic Forum’s
competitiveness work. Changes in the global economy and the increasing complexity which characterize the
business environment have made it necessary to develop an instrument that captures a larger set of factors affecting
the evolution of economic growth. We are confident that this index, elegant in design and with a strong conceptual
underpinning, will become an important tool for dialogue with policy-makers and the business community on the key
drivers of productivity,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros.
“With the growing complexity of the global economy, The Global Competitiveness Report is a contribution to
enhancing our understanding of the key factors which determine economic growth and will help explain why some
countries are much more successful than others in raising income levels and opportunities for their respective
populations. By providing detailed assessments of the economic conditions of nations worldwide, the Report offers
policy-makers and business leaders an important tool in the formulation of improved economic policies and
institutional reforms," noted Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter presents the results of the Business Competitiveness Index
(BCI), an especially useful complement to the GCI, with its emphasis on a range of company-specific factors
conducive to improved efficiency and productivity, such as the sophistication of the operating practices and
strategies of companies and the quality of the microeconomic business environment in which a nation’s companies
compete. Results of the BCI rankings are fully reported in the Executive Summary and available online at
www.weforum.org/gcr.
The World Economic Forum continues to expand geographic coverage of The Global Competitiveness Report and
with the current instalment featuring a total of 125 economies, this Report is the most comprehensive of its type. This
year, coverage has been expanded to Angola, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Lesotho, Mauritania, Nepal,
Suriname and Zambia.
This year’s Report features a number of country-specific boxes on Argentina, Brazil, France, Hungary, Israel, Japan,
South Africa, Turkey and the United States, providing an in-depth analysis of the issues affecting national
competitiveness. Moreover, the Report contains a number of external studies on pertinent issues related to global
competitiveness and, more generally, themes which emanate from the World Economic Forum’s concern with
growth and development. In addition to these, the Report also includes an interview, in which the Forum’s Chief
Economist Augusto Lopez-Claros talks to Harvard Professors Richard Cooper and Kenneth Rogoff about the
ramifications of global imbalances.
The Report contains a detailed country/economy profile for each of the 125 economies featured in the study,
providing a comprehensive summary of the overall position in the Index rankings as well as a guide to what are
considered to be the most prominent competitive advantages and competitive disadvantages of each. Also included
is an extensive section of data tables with global rankings covering over 100 indicators.

http://www.weforum.org/pdf/pressreleases/finland.pdf

FINLAND RANKS 2ND IN THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM’S 2006
GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS RANKINGS
Switzerland, Finland and Sweden take the lead, but US drops

Geneva, Switzerland 27 September 2006 – Finland is second in the Global
Competitiveness Index (GCI) rankings, just behind Switzerland and before
Sweden, underscoring its established position among the most competitive
economies in the world. Finland has a very healthy macroeconomic environment
and transparent and efficient institutions, as well as an excellent educational
system and a highly innovative business community.
“Finland is very well managed at the macroeconomic level, at a time when many
other industrialized countries are struggling in this area. The willingness of Finnish
governments to run budget surpluses, so as to be able to meet future social
commitments linked to the aging of the population, is particularly impressive. The
country is also endowed with public and private institutions that are assessed as
being the most efficient and transparent in the world. Finland is also unsurpassed
with regards to the quality of higher education available to citizens, which is so
critical for adaptation in a fast-moving global economy. Furthermore, the private
sector shows a high proclivity for adopting new technologies and nurturing a
culture of innovation, placing Finland very firmly among those countries closest to the high tech frontier,” said
Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist and Head of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness
Network.