The annually published World Competitiveness Yearbook study has listed Australia as the fifth most competitive economy in the world along with Singapore, Hong Kong, the USA and Switzerland topping the list respectively.

The yearbook has studied 58 leading economies based on 328 criteria that measure how these nations have created and maintained conditions that heavily favoured business and investments which the US has been topping for the past 16 years.

This year saw Singapore and Hong Kong, both miniscule but progressive economies, overtaking a giant economy such as that of the US though Switzerland-based IMD business school, publisher of the yearbook, described the top three economies' standings as merely separated by hairline figures.

Professor Stephane Garelli said that the three are "so close in the rankings that it would be probably better to define them as a leading trio."

She noted that amidst its high unemployment rate and heavy borrowings, which resulted to economic uncertainties, "the US has weathered the risk of the financial and economic crises thanks to the sheer size of its economy, a stronger leadership in business and an unmatched supremacy in technology."

Professor Garelli added that by its huge size alone, "the US was better placed than European nations and others to attract new investments and help companies grow."

The yearbook also listed from numbers six to ten the economies of Sweden, Canada, Taiwan, Norway and Malaysia with a surging China landing the 18th place and underscoring the fact that its mammoth economy is slowly shedding away from dependency on foreign markets absorbing its cheap exports.

Other emerging economies which made the list were India, 31; Brazil, 38 and Russia getting the 51st spot while debt-ridden Greece has still managed to improve its rankings by landing on number 46 from last year's 52nd spot.

Oil-rich Venezuela still occupied the number 58 slot, its fifth consecutive times of languishing in the cellar, and preceded only by Ukraine, Romania, Argentina and Croatia.