Iceland´s status as one of the world´s most competitive economies is confirmed in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006. As last year Iceland ranks number 4 globally and is in first place in Europe, outperforming the continent´s – and some of the world´s – biggest industrial nations.

The overall results of IMD´s competitiveness ranking place Iceland number 4, following the USA, Hong Kong and Singapore. Iceland is again leading in Europe, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Finland. Although the ranking of the four top economies stays the same Iceland has been gaining on Singapore. Government Efficiency is still improving and Iceland now ranks #4 globally. Economic Performance has been strong and Iceland now ranks #6, up from #17 last year. Business efficiency continues to be one of Iceland strong points and ranks #2 globally.

The 2006 edition features 61 national and regional economies, analyzed according to 312 criteria, grouped into four competiveness factors. The Hard data are taken from international and regional organizations and private institutes. Survey data are drawn from the Executive Opinion Survey (4,055 respondents).

The World Competitiveness Scoreboard 2005Top twenty five competitive economies
2004 rankings are in brackets:

1. USA (1)
2. Hong Kong (2)
3. Singapore (3)
4. Iceland (4)
5. Denmark (7)
6. Australia (9)
7. Canada (5)
8. Switzerland (8)
9. Luxembourg (10)
10. Finland (6)
11. Ireland (12)
12. Norway (15)
13. Austria (17)
14. Sweden (14)
15. Netherlands (13)
16. Bavaria (18)
17. Japan (21)
18. Taiwan (11)
19. China Mainland (31)
20. Estonia (26)
21. United Kingdom (22)
22. New Zealand (16)
23. Malaysia (28)
24. Chile (19)
25. Israel (25)