AssA-Irada, September 28, 2006

The United States stepped back from the leading position on global competitiveness in 2005, conceding to Switzerland, while most ex-Soviet republics are relatively competitive, according to the rankings released by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum on 125 countries.  Also topping the list were Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. The USA ranked sixth, followed by Japan, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the report said.

Lopez-Claros Augusto, chief economist and director of the WEF Global Competitiveness Network, said the U.S. has retained a competitive economy, explaining the slight decrease in its ranking by the country’s budget deficit.

Of the former Soviet republics, Estonia received the best ranking – 25th, followed by Malaysia, Chile and Spain. Czech Republic ranked 29th. Azerbaijan was rated 64th, considerably ahead of its neighbors Armenia (82nd) and Georgia (85th). Ukraine was rated 78th.  Turkey ranked 59th, surpassing Jamaica, El Salvador and Russia respectively. The study did not include Iran.

Last year, Finland topped the WEF global competitiveness rankings, while the United States was rated second and Sweden third, followed by Denmark and Taiwan. Azerbaijan ranked 69th