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WASHINGTON, DC - 11/1/03 - Finland crosses the finish line as the world's most competitive economy followed by the US, Sweden, Denmark and Taiwan, according to the most recent Global Competitiveness Report.
 
Britain dropped four places to 15th and Canada fell off 2002's top 10 list to stand 16th, both penalized for declines in the quality of their public institutions, the Geneva-based World Economic Forum said in its annual survey of 102 countries.

The survey among business leaders measured economic competitiveness based on a combination of technology, the quality of public institutions and the macroeconomic environment.
 
Finland, home to mobile phone giant Nokia, remained in first place.

The US scored high on technology but weak on the quality of its public institutions and economic environment, particularly public finances, where it ranked 50th.
 
Germany moved up one notch to 13th and France gained two places to 26th. The WEF said both countries showed improvements driven by better public institutions and technology, despite budgets troubles.
 
"If there is one lesson from our exercise, it is that the strength and coherence of government policies have an enormous bearing on a country's ranking," Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist of the WEF, said in a statement.
 
Italy is the lowest ranked European Union, down from last year's place at 33.
 
Taiwan and Singapore are Asia's best performing countries. Each moved up one place, with Taiwan rising into fifth place due to its technology strengths, and Singapore into sixth place because of a sound economy and quality of public institutions.
 
Japan climbed five places to 11th, partly driven by its strength in technology. Korea improved to 18th place from 25th due to signs of improving technology and a better economic environment, the report said.
 
China fell to 44th from 38th, marked by a drop in the perceived quality of its public institutions, with substantially lower scores on independence of its judiciary and corruption in the public sector, the WEF said.
 
Russia ranked 70th from last year's 66th place despite improvements in its economy and technology. The report said Moscow was penalized for its high inflation, inefficiencies in the banking system and low scores in a broad range of institutional factors.
 
Estonia is again the highest ranked of the countries likely to join the European Union next year, rising to 22nd from 27th.
 
Chile slipped four places to 28th but is still the highest-ranking economy in Latin America, way ahead of Mexico, the second-highest in the region at 47th.
 
Argentina, struggling to recover from the biggest debt default in history, is ranked 78th, dropping from last year's 64th.
 
Botswana is Africa's best performing economy in 36th place, showing progress in most areas except for low scores in innovation. South Africa slipped to 42nd from 34th because of a perceived deterioration in the quality of its public institutions.
 
Haiti, Chad and Angola showed the lowest scores.
 
In a separate ranking for business competitiveness, Finland retook the leading position after dropping to second place behind the United States last year.
 
The US was pulled down by concerns about rising protectionism and tightening capital availability.
 
Others that improved their business rankings include France, Denmark, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.
 
Austria slipped in the rankings based on a deteriorating business environment and so did Britain, Switzerland, Canada and Japan.

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