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Switzerland could soon give US run for its money

Switzerland has entered the top five of the world's most competitive countires for business, according to a new study by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne.

Switzerland has entered the top five of the world’s most competitive countries for business, according to a new study by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne.

The league table of 47 countries, led by the United States, was based on the analysis of each country’s annual performance against 290 criteria. Last year Switzerland was sixth. This year, it is in fifth place below the US, Singapore, Finland and the Netherlands.

According to the IMD, Switzerland is climbing the scale of competitiveness, slowly but surely. It was in ninth place in 1996, and has shot up the table to fifth in less than five years.

The main reason for this appears to be the new, more open, global business environment which favours areas in which Switzerland has strong performers such as biotechnology.

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