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Singapore drops to third in economy ranking

This article is more than 12 months old

Singapore has slipped from its place as the world's second-most competitive economy - a spot it has occupied since 2010.

The country is now third in the World Economic Forum (WEF) rankings, while the United States has moved up a step to take second.

Switzerland remains in first place, its fifth year in a row in pole position.

The WEF report assesses 12 factors that drive long-term growth and prosperity, including infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, labour market efficiency, health and primary education, to rank 137 countries.

The ranking also takes into account a survey of business leaders that captures the appetite for entrepreneurship, the extent of the skills gap and the incidence of corruption in each economy.

Singapore's slip in the league table need not be too much cause for concern, according to experts approached by The Straits Times. The WEF said the decline was mainly on account of a "persisting deflationary spell" which it assessed to have resulted in a slightly weaker macroeconomic environment. Singapore was ranked 18th for macroeconomic environment.

The WEF did note that despite dropping one rank, Singapore still "posts a stable and very strong performance across the board".

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