For the first time in close to a decade, the U.S.A. has slipped considerably in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) rankings, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). While Switzerland has taken the top slot, the other major contender Finland, retains the number two slot. The U.S.A, which has been occupying one of the top two slots in the WEF ranking in recent years, has been pushed down to the sixth position.

The fragile state of public finances has been named as a plausible cause for the sharp decline, with the trade deficit expected to top last year’s record level of $717 billion in 2006. The budget shortfall is estimated to be approximately $300 billion. The poor public-finance scenario pulled down the competitiveness of the U.S.A., despite the fact that it still leads the world in market efficiency, innovation, higher education and training, assessed by the GCI. Among the other popular offshoring nations, Malaysia is at 26, Czech Republic is at 29, Hungary is at 41 and Poland is at 48. Romania at 68, Argentina at 69 and the Philippines at 71, follow.

The U.K. is ahead of the U.S.A. in many of the areas.