With the best infrastructure globally, Switzerland led the 2021 World Competitiveness Ranking, prepared by the Institute for Management Development (IMD).

Overall, Switzerland improved greatly in its economic performance compared to last year, when it ranked third, particularly in international investment and employment.

In addition, in government efficiency, the country shot to the top of the ranking in public finance and institutional framework.

On the one hand, Switzerland made progress in productivity and efficiency, the labor market, management practices, and managers’ attitudes and values, which are all components of business efficiency.

The country also achieved the first position in the ranking in infrastructure, reached the top in education and ranked third in health and environment, according to an IMD statement.

Infrastructure 

To cite a few examples, among the components of this pillar are:

• Number of patents in force by origin of the applicant.
• Nobel Prizes per capita Awarded in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine and economics since 1950.
• Scientific qualifications.
• Scientific articles.
• Total R&D personnel in commercial companies
• Expenditure on R&D.
• Total final energy consumption.
• Investment in telecommunications.
• Mobile broadband subscribers.
• 3G and 4G market.
• Total national energy production.
• Quality of air transport.
• Energy infrastructure
• Railways.
• Air Transport.
• Number of passengers transported by main companies.
• Access to water.
• Times Higher Education College Ranking.
• Illiteracy.
• University education.
• Outgoing student mobility.
• PISA survey of 15-year-olds.
• Tertiary level foreign students.
• Total public spending on education.
• Pollution problems.

Despite economic fluctuations and even possible recessions in countries in Europe, the ranking picks up on how these economies have the right pillars in place (reliable public and private sectors and a solid education) to generate prosperity over the next decade, according to with experts from the World Competitiveness Center.