Switzerland named most competitive country
Switzerland remains the most competitive country, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2011-2012.
The report, published on Wednesday, cited Switzerland’s technological capabilities and the effectiveness of its labour market as reasons for its good results in the overall rankings.
It also said that Swiss scientific research institutes are among the best in the world.
Switzerland has led the competitiveness ranking since 2009. This year it comes above Singapore, Sweden, Finland, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Britain.
The report found that Switzerland was particularly good at translating research into new products and stated that Switzerland ranked seventh worldwide for patenting. In terms of infrastructure, Switzerland ranked fifth.
Looking ahead, the report pointed out that Switzerland would have to increase university matriculation to maintain its level of competitiveness.
The ranking is based on 12 pillars of competitiveness: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.
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