The World's Most Competitive Countries

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 for two other global surveys. One, from the World Economic Forum, ranks countries according to their "network-readiness," or how prepared they are to succeed in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The other, from a British researcher, ranks countries by how happy they are, calculated through a mix of statistics about health and welfare, plus answers to survey questions about satisfaction. You can compare and contrast the results by clicking the columns.