Sweden in second spot

U.S. slips in WEF's competitiveness rankings

Published September 08, 2010
| Reuters
BEIJING, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Switzerland remains the world's most competitive economy, while the United States has fallen from second to fourth, according to the World Economic Forum.

The United States was overtaken in the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report 2010/2011 by Sweden in second spot and Singapore in third.

Last year the Asian city state ranked third and Sweden fourth.

The WEF attributed America's slipping competitiveness to a build-up in U.S. macroeconomic imbalances, a weakening of the country's public and private institutions and concerns about the state of its financial markets.

China moved up two places in the rankings to 27th.

The Geneva-based group released the report ahead of a meeting next week in the port city of Tianjin near Beijing. (Reporting by Aileen Wang and Alan Wheatley; Editing by KenWills)