News

These are the most economically competitive countries in the world - but there's a catch

Picture:
Picture:
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The UK is now the seventh most competitive country in the world, moving up three places from 10th in the World Economic Forum (WEF)'s competitiveness report 2016.

Or at least, we were, before the Brexit vote happened.

Here are the 10 most competitive economies in the report, as mapped by Statista.

Picture:

The figures, which ranked the UK seventh with a score of 5.5, resulted from data taken prior to the 23 June referendum vote.

The report specified:

Note that the data were collected before the Brexit vote, so initial repercussions from the vote are not captured by this year’s index.

There's more:

Although the process and the conditions of Brexit are still unknown, it is likely to have a negative impact on the United Kingdom’s competitiveness through goods and financial markets as well as market size and, potentially, innovation. Competitiveness of the UK economy has, up to now, rested on highly efficient goods and labor markets (ninth and fifth, respectively); business processes are highly sophisticated (seventh) and supported by a high level of digital readiness by both businesses and consumers (third). Last year saw a partial recovery in the macroeconomic environment (up 23 places to 85th) and an improvement in financial market conditions, although in general scores were mostly stable. Brexit will likely alter the competitiveness situation in the United Kingdom.

In short, don't expect us to stay seventh.

You can view the full report on the WEF website.

More: What would happen to the UK's economy if you took London away?

More: Germany just held a competition to find the country's best mermaid

The Conversation (0)
x