Finland No. 1 in Global Competitiveness

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published its Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006 and Finland is holding the top place. This is the third consecutive year Finland tops the rankings.

In the 2005-2006 report, after Finland comes United States, and Sweden is ranked third. According to the WEF, Finland is extremely well managed at the macroeconomic level, and scores very high in those measures which assess the quality of its public institutions. Moreover, Finland has very low levels of corruption and its firms operate in a legal environment in which there is widespread respect for contracts and the rule of law. The WEF states that Finland's private sector tends to adopt new technologies, and nurtures a culture of innovation. Also the public sector gets praises in the report. According to the WEF, the education government offers is excellent. The report says it is especially noteworthy that for several years Finland has been running budget surpluses, in anticipation of future claims on the budget associated with the aging of its population.

Chief Economist of the World Economic Forum and Director of the Global Competitiveness Programme, Augusto Lopez-Claros finds that "In many ways the Nordics have entered virtuous circles where various factors reinforce each other to make them among the most competitive economies in the world, with world class institutions and some of the highest levels of per capita income in the world."

Weaknesses of Finland are high taxation and strict regulations in the labour market. The report warns Finland of excessive dependence on Nokia.

All the Nordic countries are ranked among the top ten in the report that assesses the total of 117 countries. Germany, the Europe Union's economical giant is placed 15th. Japan is shifted to the 12th place from the previous 9th.

World Economic Forum(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)