The United States tops the overall ranking in the World Economic Forum's The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009, which also shows Middle East nations, especially Gulf States higher up in the rankings.

Switzerland is in second position followed by Denmark, Sweden and Singapore.

Qatar, ranked 26 overall leads the Gulf states, followed by Saudi Arabia at (27); UAE (31); Kuwait (35); Bahrain (37) and Oman (38). Israel, ranked 23 rates highest among the Middle East nations.  

European economies continue to prevail in the top 10 with Finland, Germany and the Netherlands following suit.

The United Kingdom, while remaining very competitive, has dropped by three places and out of the top 10, mainly attributable to a weakening of its financial markets.

The People’s Republic of China continues to lead the way among large developing economies, improving by four places this year and joining the top 30.

All of the BRIC economies figure in the top half of the ranking, with China followed by India, Russia and Brazil.

Several Asian economies perform strongly with Japan, Hong Kong SAR, Republic of Korea and Taiwan, China in the top 20.

In Latin America, Chile is the highest ranked country, followed by Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico.

In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius feature in the top half of the rankings, with several countries from the region measurably improving their competitiveness.

The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries covered by the report.

'Rising food and energy prices, a major international financial crisis and the related slowdown in the world's leading economies, are confronting policy-makers with new economic management challenges.

'Today's volatility underscores the importance of a competitiveness-supporting economic environment that can help national economies to weather these types of shocks in order to ensure solid economic performance going into the future,' said Xavier Sala-i-Martin, professor of economics, Columbia University, USA, and co-author of the report.

The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organisations) in the countries covered by the report.

This year, over 12,000 business leaders were polled in a record 134 global economies. The survey is designed to capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy's business climate.

The report also includes comprehensive listings of the main strengths and weaknesses of countries, making it possible to identify key priorities for policy reform.

'In an uncertain global financial environment it is more important than ever for countries to put into place the fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development.

'The World Economic Forum has for many years played a facilitating role in this process by providing detailed assessments of the productive potential of nations worldwide.

'The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 offers policy-makers and business leaders an important tool in the formulation of improved economic policies and institutional reforms,' said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. - TradeArabia News Service