Iceland’s status as one of the world’s most competitive economies is confirmed in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2007. This year Iceland ranks #7 globally and is Europe’s 3rd most competitive economy, outperforming the continents – and some of the worlds – biggest industrial nations.

further information World Economic Forum Iceland ranks #8 on the overall Networked Readiness Index, published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the World Bank and INSEAD. The report ranks 102 countries according to their capacity to take advantage of information and communication technology networks.

Iceland gets top score of 163 countries included in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2006 and leads for the third year in low corruption.

Iceland ranks number two of 177 countries according to the UN Human Development Index 2006, measuring achievements in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and adjusted real income. This means that effectively, Iceland is one of the best places in the world to live.

Further information The World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), published annually without interruption since 1989, is the world’s most renowned and comprehensive annual report on the competitiveness of nations, ranking and analyzing how nations create and maintain an environment which sustains the competitiveness of enterprises. The yearbook is published by IMD, an independent not-for-profit- foundation, located in Lausanne, Switzerland, ensures the WCY´s accuracy through collaboration with 58 Partner Institutes worldwide.

Related Items Here you can access the full report in .pdf format from the website of the Confederation of Danish Industries.

further information "Doing Business in 2006, creating jobs" report Iceland is one of the countries of the world where doing business is easiest according to the report "Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs", cosponsored by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.

further information For the full report and the CPI 2005 table and world map please visit the Transparency International website

further information OECD Broadband Statistics, June 2005 According to OECD Broadband statistics for June 2005 the average broadband penetration within OECD is 11.8 per hundred inhabitants. South Korea ranks #1 with 25.5, followed by the Netherlands (22.5), Denmark (21.8) and Iceland (21.7).

Related Items For further information visit the World Economic Forum website.

further information OECD Broadband Statistics, December 2005 Iceland now leads the OECD in broadband penetration, according to 2005 broadband statistics from OECD. Iceland now has 26.7 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, ahead of Korea with 25.4, and Netherlands with 25.3. US has 16.8 broadband connections per 100 subscribers. The strongest per-capita subscriber growth came from Iceland, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and Australia. Each country added more than 6 subscribers per 100 inhabitants during 2005.

Related Items For further information visit the World Economic Forum website.

Related Items The Heritage Foundation Website Iceland ranks among the top 10 “free” nations of the world, according to the 2005 Index of Economic Freedom, published by the Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation.

Further information The World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), published annually without interruption since 1989, is the world’s most renowned and comprehensive annual report on the competitiveness of nations, ranking and analyzing how nations create and maintain an environment which sustains the competitiveness of enterprises. The yearbook is published by IMD, an independent not-for-profit- foundation, located in Lausanne, Switzerland, ensures the WCY´s accuracy through collaboration with 58 Partner Institutes worldwide.

Iceland ranks with the least corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International. In the 2004 Corruption Perceptions Index, which reflects the perceptions of businesspeople and country analysts, both resident and non-resident, Iceland scored 3rd-4th best out of 146 countries. The index is compiled from a poll of 18 indicators.

further information Eurostat Research and development intensity in Iceland ranks number 3 along with Japan´s according to Eurostat. Total R&D expenditure in Iceland was 3.1% of GDP in 2002 and R&D expenditure in the business enterprise sector was 1.8% placing Iceland among the top 5 European countries.

Iceland has 18% corporate tax, among the lowest in Europe. Corporate tax rates of 69 countries can be seen in KPMG's Corporate Tax Rates Survey.

Related Items Competitive Alternatives is KPMG's guide to international business costs.

further information The KPMG summary and report can be downloaded in .pdf format here below.