The World's Most Competitive Countries 2008


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The annual World Competitiveness Yearbook from Swiss business school IMD ranks 55 countries on 323 criteria, ranging from the per capita GDP and economic growth to exports, computer penetration, and even the cost of mobile phone service. It also includes qualitative assessments of dozens of factors, such as the level of corruption, state support for education, attitudes towards globalization, and the regulatory framework.

The table below lists this year's ranking. To add a little spice, we've also included results from the World Economic Forum, which ranks countries according to their "network-readiness," or how prepared they are to succeed in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. You can compare and contrast the results by clicking the columns.

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Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.
Country
WEF Global
Competitiveness Index
Rank 2008
WEF Global
Competitiveness Index
Rank 2007
IMD World
Competitiveness Yearbook
Rank 2008
IMD World
Competitiveness Yearbook
Rank 2007
United States1 1 1 1 
Switzerland2 2 4 6 
Denmark3 3 6 5 
Sweden4 4 9 9 
Singapore5 7 2 2 
Finland6 6 15 17 
Germany7 5 16 16 
Netherlands8 10 10 8 
Japan9 8 22 24 
Canada10 13 8 10 
Hong Kong11 12 3 3 
United Kingdom12 9 21 20 
Korea (South)13 11 31 29 
Austria14 15 14 11 
Norway15 16 11 13 
France16 18 25 28 
Taiwan17 14 13 18 
Australia18 19 7 12 
Belgium19 20 24 25 
Iceland20 23 NA7 
Malaysia21 21 19 23 
Ireland22 22 12 14 
Israel23 17 20 21 
New Zealand24 24 18 19 
Luxembourg25 25 5 4 
Qatar26 31 NANA
Saudi Arabia27 35 NANA
Chile28 26 26 26 
Spain29 29 33 30 
China30 34 17 15 
United Arab Emirates31 37 NANA
Estonia32 27 23 22 
Czech Republic33 33 28 32 
Thailand34 28 27 33 
Kuwait35 30 NANA
Tunisia36 32 NANA
Bahrain37 43 NANA
Oman38 42 NANA
Brunei Darussalam39 NANANA
Cyprus40 55 NANA
Puerto Rico41 36 NANA
Slovenia42 39 32 40 
Portugal43 40 37 39 
Lithuania44 38 36 31 
South Africa45 44 53 50 
Slovak Republic46 41 30 34 
Barbados47 50 NANA
Jordan48 49 34 37 
Italy49 46 46 42 
India50 48 29 27 
Russia51 58 47 43 
Malta52 56 NANA
Poland53 51 44 52 
Latvia54 45 NANA
Indonesia55 54 51 54 
Botswana56 76 NANA
Mauritius57 60 NANA
Panama58 59 NANA
Costa Rica59 63 NANA
Mexico60 52 50 47 
Croatia61 57 49 53 
Hungary62 47 38 35 
Turkey63 53 48 48 
Brazil64 72 43 49 
Montenegro65 82 NANA
Kazakhstan66 61 NANA
Greece67 65 42 36 
Romania68 74 45 44 
Azerbaijan69 66 NANA
Vietnam70 68 NANA
Philippines71 71 40 45 
Ukraine72 73 54 46 
Morocco73 64 NANA
Colombia74 69 41 38 
Uruguay75 75 NANA
Bulgaria76 79 39 41 
Peru83 86 35 NA
Argentina88 85 52 51 
Venezuela105 98 55 55 

NOTES
(1) From the 2008 annual IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook

(2) From the World Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report, 2008 (omits countries not listed in IMD study)