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Ireland is world's 27th most competitive

Wednesday, September 05 11:55:37

Ireland's has reversed its slide in competitiveness in the world, climbing two places to 27th, the latest Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 from the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed today.

The rise in the rankings for Ireland follows a decline in competitiveness from 22nd to 29th in recent years.

This year's report says Ireland continues to benefit from a number of strengths, "including its excellent health and primary education (12th) and strong higher education and training (20th), along with its well-functioning goods and labour markets, ranked 9th and 16th, respectively".

In its annual Global Competitiveness Report, the WEF scores each country according to 12 "pillars of competitiveness", from the state of its infrastructure to the effectiveness of its health and education systems.

Switzerland, the WEF's home country, comes top of its Global Competitiveness Index, praised for its sophisticated scientific research; high-quality training for workers; and stable political institutions. Singapore, currently the country of choice for bankers fleeing the City for a lower-tax regime, comes in second. Finland is third.

The schism within the crisis-hit eurozone is also laid bare by the WEF's analysis, which ranks Germany as the world's sixth most competitive country, and France at number 21, while bailed-out Greece comes 96th, down six places from last year, and far behind Cambodia (85) or Kazakhstan (51).

The UK was ranked eighth.