Area Development
The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010, published by the World Economic Forum, is the result of exhaustive research on the topic of country competitiveness by a network of researchers around the world. The report is based on 12 pillars of competitiveness: (1) Institutions, (2) Infrastructure, (3) Macroeconomic Stability, (4) Health and Primary Education, (5) Higher Education and Training, (6) Goods Market Efficiency, (7) Labor Market Efficiency, (8) Financial Market Sophistication, (9) Technological Readiness, (10) Market Size, (11) Business Sophistication and (12) Innovation.

Switzerland tops the overall ranking in the Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010. The United States falls one place to second position, with weakening in its financial markets and macroeconomic stability. Singapore, Sweden, and Denmark round out the top five. European economies continue to prevail in the top 10 with Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands following suit. The United Kingdom, while remaining very competitive, has continued its fall from last year, moving down one more place this year to 13th, mainly attributable to continuing weakening of its financial markets. The People's Republic of China continues to lead the way among large developing economies, improving by one place this year, solidifying its position among the top 30.