Sweden ranks number one in the world in a new measure of economic growth and development, maintaining the country’s hold on the top spot despite the global financial crisis.
The ranking, compiled by accountancy firm PwC, is based on a twenty different factors including technology, regulatory framework, sustainability, and other economic indicators to give a ‘holistic measure of a country’s performance and progress over time’.
Sweden, which achieved an overall score of 70.5 on PwC’s Escape (Economic, Social, Communication, Political and Environmental) Index, was followed by Switzerland (70.3) and Singapore (66.3).
Nordic neighbours Finland (5th) and Denmark (6th) also scored well, while the US was ranked 18th and the UK 19th.
Overall, 42 advanced and emerging economies which account for 85% of the world’s GDP were included in the index.
Sweden also topped the ranking when it was last published in 2007.
While all major emerging markets have shown improvements since 2000, PwC singled out countries from central and eastern Europe (CEE) as having shown ‘particularly strong rises’.
