The BBC has a headline today that says the US is "no longer the technology king." Indeed, something is rotten in the District of Columbia. Denmark has taken the crown as the highest-ranked country in the annual World Economic Forum/Insead "Network Readiness Index".
Looking behind the headline a bit, you'll learn that the US dropped from its number one perch in the 2005 rankings and that the Nordic countries dominate the top-10. Our future overlords in India and China come in ranked 44th and 59th, respectively. All 122 ranked countries are listed after the jump. And, please don't get me started on how on earth the Kyrgyz Republic finished behind Burkina Faso.
Why did the US drop six spots? Not because of our environment for innovation, access to capital, and university systems. All those were ranked as the best in the world. No, we slipped because of a "deterioration of the political and regulatory environment." What exactly this means, I don't know for sure. I'll have to wait to read the full report that you can buy online for 65 pounds. Yet, one can assume that our backward and self-defeating H-1B and skilled immigration policies, lack of of emphasis science and math education, and Congressional dithering on innovation policies played a big role. I would also be curious to know why (or if) the US regulatory environment was deemed more favorable in 2005 when the country finished in the top spot.
Rank Country/ Economy Score
1 Denmark 5.71
2 Sweden 5.66
3 Singapore 5.60
4 Finland 5.59
5 Switzerland 5.58
6 Netherlands 5.54
7 United States 5.54
8 Iceland 5.50
9 United Kingdom 5.45
10 Norway 5.42
11 Canada 5.35
12 Hong Kong SAR 5.35
13 Taiwan, China 5.28
14 Japan 5.27
15 Australia 5.24
16 Germany 5.22
17 Austria 5.17
18 Israel 5.14
19 Korea, Rep. 5.14
20 Estonia 5.02
21 Ireland 5.01
22 New Zealand 5.01
23 France 4.99
24 Belgium 4.93
25 Luxembourg 4.90
26 Malaysia 4.74
27 Malta 4.52
28 Portugal 4.48
29 United Arab Emirates 4.42
30 Slovenia 4.41
31 Chile 4.36
32 Spain 4.35
33 Hungary 4.33
34 Czech Republic 4.28
35 Tunisia 4.24
36 Qatar 4.21
37 Thailand 4.21
38 Italy 4.19
39 Lithuania 4.18
40 Barbados 4.18
41 Slovak Republic 4.15
42 Latvia 4.13
43 Cyprus 4.12
44 India 4.06
45 Jamaica 4.05
46 Croatia 4.00
47 South Africa 4.00
48 Greece 3.98
49 Mexico 3.91
50 Bahrain 3.89
51 Mauritius 3.87
52 Turkey 3.86
53 Brazil 3.84
54 Kuwait 3.80
55 Romania 3.80
56 Costa Rica 3.77
57 Jordan 3.74
58 Poland 3.69
59 China 3.68
60 Uruguay 3.67
61 El Salvador 3.66
62 Indonesia 3.59
63 Argentina 3.59
64 Colombia 3.59
65 Panama 3.58
66 Dominican Republic 3.56
67 Botswana 3.56
68 Trinidad and Tobago 3.55
69 Philippines 3.55
70 Russian Federation 3.54
71 Azerbaijan 3.53
72 Bulgaria 3.53
73 Kazakhstan 3.52
74 Serbia and Montenegro 3.48
75 Ukraine 3.46
76 Morocco 3.45
77 Egypt 3.44
78 Peru 3.43
79 Guatemala 3.41
80 Algeria 3.41
81 Macedonia, FYR 3.41
82 Vietnam 3.40
83 Venezuela 3.32
84 Pakistan 3.31
85 Namibia 3.28
86 Sri Lanka 3.27
87 Mauritania 3.25
88 Nigeria 3.23
89 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.20
90 Mongolia 3.18
91 Tanzania 3.13
92 Moldova 3.13
93 Georgia 3.12
94 Honduras 3.09
95 Kenya 3.07
96 Armenia 3.07
97 Ecuador 3.05
98 Guyana 3.01
99 Burkina Faso 2.97
100 Uganda 2.97
101 Mali 2.96
102 Madagascar 2.95
103 Nicaragua 2.95
104 Bolivia 2.93
105 Kyrgyz Republic 2.90
106 Cambodia 2.88
107 Albania 2.87
108 Nepal 2.83
109 Benin 2.83
110 Suriname 2.82
111 Malawi 2.79
112 Zambia 2.75
113 Cameroon 2.74
114 Paraguay 2.69
115 Mozambique 2.64
116 Lesotho 2.61
117 Zimbabwe 2.60
118 Bangladesh 2.55
119 Ethiopia 2.55
120 Angola 2.42
121 Burundi 2.40
122 Chad 2.16
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