The Report, first published in 1979, measures the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the national economies of 75 countries. The countries are ranked in two indexes--the Growth Competitivess Index and the Current Competitivess Index.

"The tremendous uncertainty in the global economy brings about important challenges," said Klaus Schwab, Founder and President of the World Economic Forum. "It is now more critical than ever to assess how countries will fare over the next five years."

The Growth Competitiveness Index measures the rate of change of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita to measure future growth of the economy. There are three sub-indexes within this section including the level of technology in an economy, the quality of public institutions and macroeconomic conditions. These factors are taken to explain why the prosperity of some economies is increasing faster than others.

The Current Competitivess Index focuses on current economic performance as measured by current GDP per capita. There are two sub-indexes including a measure of company sophistication and the quality of business environment. This index is used to explain why some countries can sustain a higher level of prosperity than others.

"Coping with the enormous challenges currently facing the global economy involves pursuing a prudent and proactive macroeconomic policy stance," said Schwab in the preface to the report. "In this endeavor the Global Competitiveness Report remains an invaluable tool by identifying existing impediments to economic growth and thus helping in the design of policy measures to remove such obstacles."

This year 17 countries were added to the report to increase the diversity of countries analyzed. Among the new entrants are Nigeria, Bangladesh, Estonia, Guatemala and Paraguay.

"We are pleased to add 17 countries to our analysis," said Peter Cornelius, Director of the Global Competitiveness Programme of the World Economic Forum. "It reflects the rising integration of developing countries into the global economy."

Finland ranked first in both indexes, thus earning the title of the most competitive economy in the world. The United States ranked second in both indexes. Many of the Asian economies, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, fell in the rankings, while North European countries including Finland, Norway and Sweden rose on the scale.