Singapore Ranked Most Competitive Economy

The Geneva, Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF) has named Singapore the world's most competitive economy in its 1999 Global Competitiveness Report. The annual report is a ranking of the world's largest economies based on the following eight factors: openness, government, finance, infrastructure, technology, management, labor, and institutions. WEF's ranking was based on survey results from more than 4,000 executives in 59 countries. Singapore maintained its global leadership position largely because the economic conditions essential for long-term growth have remained constant in spite of the Asian economic crisis. In addition to the overall No. 1 ranking, Singapore was ranked first in the government and labor categories. The U.S. replaced Hong Kong as the world's second most competitive economy, with Hong Kong dropping to third place. Taiwan and Canada ranked fourth and fifth respectively, and were followed in order by Switzerland, Luxembourg, the UK, Netherlands, and Ireland.