The Asian jurisdiction and the Alpine state have overtaken Uncle Sam in terms of overall competitiveness, a ranking claims.

Hong Kong and Switzerland have leapfrogged the US as the world’s most competitive economies, while Singapore has slipped to fourth place in rankings issued by Lausanne-headquartered IMD. 

Hong Kong, according to the IMD World Competitiveness Center’s report, is in first place, followed by Switzerland in second place and the US in third. (The data may raise eyebrows considering that Switzerland’s exporters face the challenge of a strong Swiss franc, although that appears to be outweighed by other factors.) Each ranking is based on an analysis of over 340 criteria derived from four principal factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

Responses from an in-depth survey of more than 5,400 business executives, who are asked to assess the situation in their own countries, are also taken into consideration.

While Switzerland has had to contend with the "problem" of a safe-haven currency and global assaults on its bank secrecy regime, and Hong Kong has seen the impact of decelerating growth in China, the data suggest that these jurisdictions - both key wealth management centres - are in a strong position versus many of their peers.

By contrast, Venezuela, wracked by civil disorder and economic collapse as the hard left regime’s policies of nationalisation and state planning implode, is stuck at the bottom, at 61st place. Ukraine, locked in conflict with Russia, is at 59th, up by just one point.

The UK, which goes to the polls in less than a month’s time to vote on whether to stay in or leave the European Union (23 June), is at 18th, while Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is at 12th; France, currently hit by a wave of strikes as the country tries to reform labour markets, is at 32nd.

The IMD World Competitiveness Center, a research group within IMD business school, has published the ranking each year since 1989.

“The USA still boasts the best economic performance in the world, but there are many other factors that we take into account when assessing competitiveness,” Professor Arturo Bris, director of the centre, said in a report. “The common pattern among all of the countries in the top 20 is their focus on business-friendly regulation, physical and intangible infrastructure and inclusive institutions,” he continued.

Professor Bris said Hong Kong benefits from low and simple taxation and the lack of restrictions on capital flows into or out of the territory; its status also benefits from being a gateway for foreign direct investment in China mainland, the world’s newest economic superpower, and enables businesses there to access global capital markets.

More negatively for the Asia story, the report said, Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea Republic, and Indonesia suffered significant falls from their 2015 positions, while the Chinese mainland declined only narrowly retaining its place in the top 25. The study reveals some of the most impressive strides in Europe have been made by countries in the East, chief among them Latvia, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

Meanwhile, 36th-placed Chile is the sole Latin American nation outside the bottom 20, while Argentina, in 55th, is the only country in the region to have improved on its 2015 position.