Switzerland, Singapore and the US are the world's most competitive economies

Singapore’s solid infrastructure and efficiency in the goods market have led to the island nation making a name for itself among the most competitive economies in the world.

According to the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2014-2015 by the World Economic Forum, the country retained its spot as the world’s second-most competitive economy for the second year in a row.

The report, which surveyed 144 economies in total, pitted countries against 12 pillars, and defined their competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. These included pillars such as institutions, infrastructure, and macroeconomic environment, amongst others.

Singapore scored a GCI of 5.6 out of seven in these pillars, beaten only by Switzerland (5.7).

The report lauded the country for scoring well in its infrastructure (6.5), its labour market (5.7) and goods (5.6) efficiency.

However, restrictive labour regulations were highlighted as the biggest obstacle to doing business in Singapore, with 28.2% of those surveyed stating this was the case.

Inflation and insufficient capacity to innovate followed the list, coming in at 20.5% and 15.2% respectively.

“The leading economies in the index all possess a track record in developing, accessing and utilising available talent, as well as in making investments that boost innovation,” the report stated.

The United States followed Switzerland and Singapore to third place, climbing two places from last year.

Finland and Germany rounded up the top five most competitive economies in the world, respectively.

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