Taiwan is the world's most competitive economy after the US and Finland, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a report Tuesday.
Taiwan is ranked third by growth competitiveness, Singapore retains fourth position, Sweden rises to fifth from ninth and Switzerland jumps to sixth from 15th last year.
The sole remaining superpower has the best prospects for growth over the next five to eight years, said the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report 2002-2003, which ranks 80 countries.
"The United States owes its high competitiveness mainly to its stellar performance in technology-related factors and a business environment that is conducive to entrepreneurship and risk-taking," the WEF said in a statement.
"The USA also scores well in its macroeconomic environment, although the country's low savings rate remains a matter of concern," the non-profit foundation said.
Officials at the forum said the result should not come as a surprise.
"That is not very surprising," the WEF's chief economist Peter Cornelius told a press conference. "The United States remain extremely innovative."
But in the current climate of global uncertainty risks remain.
"That the United States is ranked number one ... should not lead to complacency, for to maintain this leading position, the country has to resolve outstanding reform issues, especially the need to improve its governance system," Cornelius added.
The forum describes itself as an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world.
In last year's report, Finland, home of the world's biggest mobile-phone maker Nokia, was first and the US second in the categories of growth potential and current competitiveness.
Finland's fallback was mainly blamed on the slippage in IT, "but they are still in a good sound position, that's no accident," said Harvard Business School's Michael Porter, who contributed to the report.
The growth competitiveness index is made up of three variables -- technology, the quality of public institutions and the macroeconomic environment -- that drive medium and long-term growth.
"Competitive countries can be expected to return to a sustained growth path faster and earlier than those that are less competitive," the report said.
The report is based on a mixture of statistics, public information and surveys of 4,800 business leaders.
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