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Sweden best in EU for competition: ranking

Paul O'Mahony
Paul O'Mahony - [email protected]
Sweden best in EU for competition: ranking

Sweden's economy remains the most competitive in the European Union, according to a new ranking from the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

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Sweden, which also led last year's list, pipped Denmark and Finland to the top EU spots as WEF gave the Nordic nations high marks for innovation and cooperation between the business and tertiary education sectors.

"The Nordic countries have also achieved a high level of social inclusion, with low unemployment (especially in Denmark, pioneer of the “flexicurity” system) and strong participation of women in the workforce (especially in Finland and Sweden)," WEF said in a statement.

"These countries also have developed highly-skilled workforces through top-notch educational systems and strong on-the-job training programmes."

The 27 EU countries were measured in terms of their success in relation the EU's competition benchmark, commonly referred to as the Lisbon criteria.

However, in its fifth and final biennial review, WEF found that the EU as a whole had failed to measure up to its goal of becoming the most competitive economy in the world.

“In 2000, the EU set for itself an ambitious action and development plan with the Lisbon Agenda. As this Review indicates, while some progress has been made, much remains to be achieved in order to fully harness Europe’s economic potential."

The World Economic Forum is a non-profit foundation best know for its annual meeting in Davos in the Swiss Alps, where business leaders and intellectuals converge to discuss potential resolutions to global problems.

Rank 2010 (Source: World Economic Forum)

1. Sweden

2. Finland

3. Denmark

4. Netherlands

5. Luxembourg

6. Germany

7. Austria

8. France

9. United Kingdom

10. Belgium

11. Ireland

12. Estonia

13. Cyprus

14. Slovenia

15. Czech Republic

16. Portugal

17. Malta

18. Spain

19. Slovak Republic

20. Lithuania

21. Hungary

22. Latvia

23. Greece

24. Poland

25. Italy

26. Romania

27. Bulgaria

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