Economy
Ranked: Which Economies Are the Most Competitive?
Ranked: Which Economies Are the Most Competitive?
What makes a country successful from an economic perspective? Many think of this in terms of GDP per capita—but in a rapidly changing world, our definitions of progress have evolved to encompass much more.
This animated Chart of the Week visualizes 10 years of global competitiveness, according to the World Economic Forum, and tracks how rankings have changed in this time.
How Do You Measure Competition?
The WEF’s annual Global Competitiveness Report defines the concept of ‘competitiveness’ as an economy’s productivity—and the institutions, policies, and factors which shape this.
This year’s edition unpacks the national competitiveness of 141 countries, using the newly-introduced Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 4.0 which looks at four key metrics:
- Enabling Environment
Includes: Institutions, Infrastructure, ICT Adoption*, Macroeconomic Activity
*Refers to information and communications technology - Human Capital
Includes: Health, Skills - Markets
Includes: Product Market, Labor Market, Financial System, Market Size - Innovation Ecosystem
Includes: Business Dynamics, Innovation Capability
Each country’s overall competitiveness score is an average of these 12 main pillars of productivity. With that out of the way, let’s dive into the countries which emerge triumphant.
The Most Competitive: Movers and Shakers
The world’s top countries excel in many fields—but there can only be one #1. In 2019, Singapore wins the coveted “most competitive economy” title, with a 84.8 score on the GCI.
The nation’s developed infrastructure, health, labor market, and financial system have all propelled it forward—swapping with the U.S. (83.7) for the top spot. However, more can be done, as the report notes Singapore still lacks press freedom and demonstrates a low commitment to sustainability.
How have the current scores of the most competitive economies improved or fallen behind, compared to 2018?
Rank | Economy | 2019 Score | 2018 Score | 2018-2019 Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 84.8 | 83.5 | +1.3 |
#2 | 🇺🇸 United States | 83.7 | 85.6 | -2 |
#3 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 83.1 | 82.3 | +0.9 |
#4 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 82.4 | 82.4 | 0 |
#5 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 82.3 | 82.6 | -0.3 |
#6 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 82.3 | 82.5 | -0.2 |
#7 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 81.8 | 82.8 | -1 |
#8 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 81.2 | 81.7 | -0.4 |
#9 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 81.2 | 82 | -0.8 |
#10 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 81.2 | 80.6 | +0.6 |
Finland (80.2) and Canada (79.6) are notable exits from this top 10 list over the years. Meanwhile, Denmark (81.2) disappeared from the rankings for five years, but managed to climb back up in 2018.
Regional Competitiveness: Highs and Lows
Another perspective on the most competitive economies is to look at how countries fare within regions, and how these regions compete among each other.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has the widest gap in competitiveness scores—Israel (76.7) scores over double that of poorest-performing Yemen (35.5). Interestingly, the MENA region showed the most progress, growing its median score by 2.77% between 2018-2019.
The narrowest gap is actually in South Asia, with just a single-digit difference between India (61.4) and Nepal (51.6). However, the region also grew the slowest, with only 0.08% increase in median score over a year.
Region | Best Performer | 2019 Score | Worst Performer | 2019 Score | Regional Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Europe and North America | 🇺🇸 United States | 83.7 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina | 54.7 | 29 |
Latin America and the Caribbean | 🇨🇱 Chile | 70.5 | 🇭🇹 Haiti | 36.3 | 34.2 |
East Asia and Pacific | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 84.8 | 🇱🇦 Laos | 50.1 | 34.7 |
South Asia | 🇮🇳 India | 61.4 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | 51.6 | 9.8 |
Eurasia | 🇷🇺 Russia | 66.7 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | 52.4 | 14.3 |
Middle East and North Africa | 🇮🇱 Israel | 76.7 | 🇾🇪 Yemen | 35.5 | 41.2 |
Sub-Saharan Africa | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 64.3 | 🇹🇩 Chad | 35.1 | 29.2 |
Across all regions, the WEF found that East Asia’s 73.9 median score was the highest. Europe and North America were not far behind with a 70.9 median score. This is consistent with the fact that the most competitive economies have all come from these regions in the past decade.
As all these countries race towards the frontier—an ideal state where productivity growth is not constrained—the report notes that competitiveness “does not imply a zero-sum game”. Instead, any and all countries are capable of improving their productivity according to the GCI measures.
Economy
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.

The Briefing
- Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
- After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.
More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.
Methodology and Results
The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.
Year | Fed chair | % Great deal or Fair amount |
---|---|---|
2023 | Jerome Powell | 36% |
2022 | Jerome Powell | 43% |
2021 | Jerome Powell | 55% |
2020 | Jerome Powell | 58% |
2019 | Jerome Powell | 50% |
2018 | Jerome Powell | 45% |
2017 | Janet Yellen | 45% |
2016 | Janet Yellen | 38% |
2015 | Janet Yellen | 42% |
2014 | Janet Yellen | 37% |
2013 | Ben Bernanke | 42% |
2012 | Ben Bernanke | 39% |
2011 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
2010 | Ben Bernanke | 44% |
2009 | Ben Bernanke | 49% |
2008 | Ben Bernanke | 47% |
2007 | Ben Bernanke | 50% |
2006 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
2005 | Alan Greenspan | 56% |
2004 | Alan Greenspan | 61% |
2003 | Alan Greenspan | 65% |
2002 | Alan Greenspan | 69% |
2001 | Alan Greenspan | 74% |
Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”
We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.
For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.
On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.
Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.
Confidence Now on the Decline
After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.
This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:
- Negative impact on the stock market
- Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
- Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable
Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Gallup (2023)
Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.
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