Finland At The Top Of The World
Finland remains the world's most competitive economy, holding first position for the third time in four years in the Growth Competitiveness Index. The rankings are based on a survey carried out by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 104 countries. The key factors of the survey are the macroeconomic environment, the quality of a country's institutions and the state of its technology, and supporting infrastructure. Finland's strengths include well-managed economic policy, first class public institutions, and a private sector that adapts quickly to new technology and innovation. There is also virtually no corruption in high places in Finland. However, some Finnish economists argue that negative factors still persist in the Finnish economic system, taxation reform being one of them. Australia was ranked 13th.
Finnish pupils are the smartest in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's PISA survey, conducted for the second time last year. The survey measures the knowledge of 250,000 of the world's pupils in four areas: mathematics, science, reading comprehension and problem solving. The results showed the Finns in first place followed by the South Koreans, Hong Kong Chinese and the Japanese in fourth.
Australia rates highly, ranking 11th in mathematics, fourth in reading, sixth in science and seventh in problem solving. The survey is based on a series of questions which give an idea of a student's ability to apply knowledge acquired in the classroom to everyday life.
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