LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwire - May 17, 2011) - IMD, a top-ranked global business school based in Switzerland, today announced the findings of its annual World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), which places Canada in seventh place, retaining its position from last year. Neighboring USA, along with Hong Kong, were on the top of list as the most competitive countries, both slightly ahead of last year's winner, Singapore.
Published since 1989, WCY ranks and analyzes how an economy manages the totality of its resources and competencies to increase the prosperity of its population.
IMD's WCY indicates that Canada's top key attractiveness indicators include the country's stable policy, skilled workforce, reliable infrastructure and high educational levels. Canada's competitive strengths lie in its high level of resilience, efficient financial system and dynamic business culture. The country also ranks first for its 'Image Abroad.' In terms of weaknesses, there are concerns about relocation threats and vulnerability to commodity-dependency.
| THE TOP 20 (OUT OF 59) | |||||||
| Score 2011 | Country | Rank 2010 | Rank 2011 | Score 2011 | Country | Rank 2010 | Rank 2011 |
| 100.0 | Hong Kong | 2 | 1 | 86.5 | Luxembourg | 11 | 11 |
| 100.0 | USA | 3 | 1 | 86.4 | Denmark | 13 | 12 |
| 98.6 | Singapore | 1 | 3 | 86.3 | Norway | 9 | 13 |
| 94.1 | Sweden | 6 | 4 | 85.7 | Netherlands | 12 | 14 |
| 92.6 | Switzerland | 4 | 5 | 84.4 | Finland | 19 | 15 |
| 92.0 | Taiwan | 8 | 6 | 84.1 | Malaysia | 10 | 16 |
| 90.8 | Canada | 7 | 7 | 81.6 | Israel | 17 | 17 |
| 90.2 | Qatar | 15 | 8 | 81.6 | Austria | 14 | 18 |
| 89.3 | Australia | 5 | 9 | 81.1 | China | 18 | 19 |
| 87.8 | Germany | 16 | 10 | 80.3 | UK | 22 | 20 |
| (NB. The scores are actually indices (0 to 100) generated for the unique purpose of constructing charts and graphics.) | |||||||
Additional 2011 WCY findings:
- Sweden jumps to fourth place from sixth, highlighting the competitiveness of the Nordic model
- Germany shines and gains six ranks to tenth position thanks to increased exports and a more flexible labor market
- Qatar, Korea and Turkey continue their ascent in competitiveness
IMD also released its first Government Efficiency Gap results, which compares a country's government and business efficiency to determine whether countries have "the government they deserve."
According to the findings, there is little gap between government and business efficiency in Canada, showing that the two reinforce one another and are well synchronized. On the contrary, overall competitiveness in the US was 'rescued' by its business efficiency.
"In the overall ranking, as well as in business and government efficiency, Canada ranks in the top 10. In terms of competitiveness potential, Canada has a good balance with a government that supports business, and a dynamic business sector that has a 'pull effect' on the country's competitiveness," said Suzanne Rosselet, IMD World Competitiveness Center Deputy Director. "In the future we believe the efficiency of government will be increasingly important in sustaining competitive gains."
THE GOVERNMENT - BUSINESS EFFICIENCY GAP IN 2011
(Partial list, selected from the 59 WCY countries)
| Country | Government Efficiency | Business Efficiency | Difference |
| Brazil | 55 | 29 | -26 |
| Japan | 50 | 27 | -23 |
| Belgium | 39 | 23 | -16 |
| USA | 19 | 10 | -9 |
| China | 33 | 25 | -8 |
| Germany | 24 | 16 | -8 |
| Italy | 51 | 48 | -3 |
| Canada | 9 | 8 | -1 |
| Sweden | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| Australia | 7 | 7 | - |
| Mexico | 43 | 43 | - |
| UK | 26 | 28 | 2 |
| France | 44 | 47 | 3 |
| South Africa | 32 | 40 | 8 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 11 | 8 |
| New Zealand | 8 | 24 | 16 |
The table above shows countries' rankings for Government Efficiency and Business Efficiency (two competitiveness factors drawn from the WCY 2011) and the gap between the two. All rankings are across 59 economies, in descending order from best (1st) to worst (59th).
For access to the full results and IMD's online database, please email Tracey Cassidy tcassidy@rosecomm.com.
For direct access to the US profile:
http://www.worldcompetitiveness.com/Partners/IMD_WCY11/pdf/CountryProfile/CA.pdf
About IMD
Based in Switzerland, IMD is consistently top-ranked among business schools worldwide. With more than 60 years' experience, IMD takes a real world, real learning approach to executive education. IMD offers pioneering and collaborative solutions to address clients' challenges. Our perspective is international - we understand the complexity of the global environment. Real-impact executive learning and leadership development at IMD enables participants to learn more, deliver more and be more. (www.imd.org).