Trade Openness
The Trade Openness category of the Global Competitiveness Index assesses each country’s efforts to facilitate international trade, primarily in terms of the application of tariffs and border controls.
The United States’s performance in specific areas of the Trade Openness category shows the greatest room for improvement in terms of the complexity of tariffs, where it has a progress score (ranging from a poor mark of 0 to a top mark of one 100) of 44.3, resulting in a rank of 110th out of 141 countries.
The United States receives an overall progress score in this category of 67 out of a possible 100. That in turn translates into a rank of 14th out of the 141 countries included in the category (in the overall Competitiveness Index - taking into account all categories - The United States ranks 2nd out of 141 countries).
Other indicators reflect a better performance: the prevalence of non-tariff-related barriers to importing goods, where it has a progress score of 65.2 that results in a rank of 33rd out of 141 countries; the efficiency of clearing customs and other border control agencies where it has a progress score of 69.4 that results in a rank of 10th out of 137 countries; and the severity of tariff rates where it has a progress score of 89 that results in a rank of 38th out of 141 countries.
Health
The Health category of the Global Competitiveness Index reflects the number of years that a newborn in each country can expect to live in good health, taking into account mortality and disability.
The United States receives an overall progress score in this category of 83 out of a possible 100. That in turn translates into a rank of 55th out of the 141 countries included in the category (in the overall Competitiveness Index - taking into account all categories - The United States ranks 2nd out of 141 countries).
UNITED STATES
President Biden entered office in January 2021 with the promise to end the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitate an economic transformation to “build a better America.” But what, exactly, does “better” mean? Answering that question in specific ways means establishing explicit benchmarks for progress, analyzing current trends, and identifying their impact and on whom. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can help with the answer.
A public recommitment to the SDGs offers the opportunity to rebuild the credibility of the U.S. within the multilateral system and, as the world’s largest bilateral donor, exercise a collaborative model of leadership to advance emerging priorities such as global health security (with a top priority to stop COVID-19), climate action, democratic governance,
corruption, and localization.
The SDGs are also a powerful framework for U.S. global engagement. As the world’s largest bilateral donor, and main progenitor of the multilateral development system, the U.S. plays a vital role in supporting and catalyzing progress on sustainable development in all areas of the world. Shifting away from the “America First” foreign policy of the Trump administration, the Biden administration is seeking to revitalize its alliances and reestablish its leadership in mobilizing collective action on humanitarian and development issues, for which the SDGs can be an essential asset.
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Future Orientation of Government
The Future Orientation of Government category of the Global Competitiveness Index assesses a country’s ability to adapt to digital business models and respond effectively to technological, social, and demographic change.
The United States receives an overall progress score in this category of 68 out of a possible 100. That in turn translates into a rank of 20th out of the 141 countries included in the category (in the overall Competitiveness Index - taking into account all categories - The United States ranks 2nd out of 141 countries).
Other indicators reflect a better performance: the local legal framework's adaptability to digital business models, where it has a progress score of 78 that results in a rank of 1st out of 137 countries; and enforcing greater energy efficiency through regulation where it has a progress score of 82 that results in a rank of 12th out of 113 countries.
The United States’s performance in specific areas of the Future Orientation of Government category shows the greatest room for improvement in terms of enforcing treaties related to protecting the environment, where it has a progress score (ranging from a poor mark of 0 to a top mark of one 100) of 55.2, resulting in a rank of 132nd out of 139 countries; and in terms of encouraging the use of renewable energy through regulation where it has a progress score of 58.4 that results in a rank of 49th out of 113 countries.
The Corporate Governance category of the Global Competitiveness Index assesses related aspects in each country including auditing and accounting standards, conflict of interest regulation, and shareholder governance.
The United States’s performance in specific areas of the Corporate Governance category shows the greatest room for improvement in terms of shareholder governance, where it has a progress score (ranging from a poor mark of 0 to a top mark of one 100) of 46, resulting in a rank of 99th out of 141 countries.
Other indicators reflect a better performance: the strength of auditing and reporting standards, where it has a progress score of 79.8 that results in a rank of 17th out of 141 countries; and conflict of interest regulation where it has a progress score of 83 that results in a rank of 8th out of 141 countries.
The United States receives an overall progress score in this category of 70 out of a possible 100. That in turn translates into a rank of 31st out of the 141 countries included in the category (in the overall Competitiveness Index - taking into account all categories - The United States ranks 2nd out of 141 countries).
Transparency
The United States receives an overall progress score in this category of 71 out of a possible 100. That in turn translates into a rank of 22nd out of the 141 countries included in the category (in the overall Competitiveness Index - taking into account all categories - The United States ranks 2nd out of 141
The Transparency category of the Global Competitiveness Index describes the incidence of corruption in a country.
Security
The Security category of the Global Competitiveness Index describes a country’s situation relative to challenges like organized crime, homicides, terrorist attacks, and the reliability of police services. The United States ranks 2nd out of 141 countries.
The United States receives an overall progress score in this category of 77 out of a possible 100. That in turn translates into a rank of 64th out of the 141 countries included in the category (in the overall Competitiveness Index - taking into account all categories.)
The United States’s performance in specific areas of the Security category shows the greatest room for improvement in terms of organized crime, where it has a progress score (ranging from a poor mark of 0 to a top mark of one 100) of 61.9, resulting in a rank of 69th out of 141 countries.
Other indicators reflect a better performance: the reliability of police services, where it has a progress score of 78.1 that results in a rank of 26th out of 141 countries; the incidence of terrorism where it has a progress score of 83.3 that results in a rank of 129th out of 141 countries; and homicide rate where it has a progress score of 83.7 that results in a rank of 96th out of 141 countries.