This year's report cites levels of government bureaucracy effectiveness, infrastructure quality, and tax burden as some of the problems in conducting business in Israel. In addition, the report says that Israel should focus on improving the level of its education, which has consistently slipped in world rankings in recent years.
Overall, Israel is one of several Middle Eastern/North African nations to place in the top half of the WEF competitiveness rankings, with Qatar at #17, Saudi Arabia at #21, and the United Arab Emirates at #25.
The top 10 countries in terms of global competitiveness according to the WEF report, are: Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, U.S., Germany, Japan, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark, and Canada.
WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab says that policymakers are struggling with the question of how to manage economic challenges while preparing their nations' economies to perform well in the future.
'In such a global economic environment, it is more important than ever for countries to put into place the fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development,' Schwab states.
The Global Competitiveness Report is based on the WEF's Global Competitiveness Index, which gauges 12 parameters of a nation's competitiveness: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation. Rankings are calculated from a combination of public data and the Executive Opinion Survey." (source)
