Global competitiveness ranking: US falls to fifth spot

The United States fell to fifth place in a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies.

The World Economic Forum announced Wednesday that the United States fell in the survey due to its massive deficits and declining public faith in the government and political leaders, the Associated Press reports. The rankings are based on economic data and a survey of 15,000 business executives, it states.

The top spot went to Switzerland, which has held the number one ranking for three straight years.

The ranking by the Geneva-based forum put Singapore at second, Sweden at third and Finland at fourth. The United States had been in the number one spot in 2008 but has fallen for three consecutive years.

The rankings incorporated factors such as factors a nation’s infrastructure, technological readiness and business sophistication, the Los Angeles Times reports.

When referring to the United States, the forum said the country had several advantages like an excellent university system, but the “lack of macroeconomic stability continues to be the United States’ greatest area of weakness."

The rankings also show that developing countries are narrowing the gap with established industrialized nations, the Wall Street Journal reports.

"Much of the developing world is still seeing relatively strong growth, despite some risk of overheating, while most advanced economies continue to experience sluggish recovery, persistent unemployment and financial vulnerability, with no clear horizon for improvement," Klaus Schwab, founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF, said in the survey's release, as reported by the Journal.