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Ukraine placed 73rd among 131 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008 released by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum

rld Economic Forum on Oct. 31.

Ukraine’s ranked on par with the Philippines, Brazil, Uruguay and Romania. The Baltic States received the highest scores among all former Soviet countries, while Russia placed 58th, according to the report.

The US led the ranking, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Singapore.

The index is compiled on the basis of 12 “pillars of competitiveness,” including institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods and market labor efficiency.

Ukraine dropped four positions from 69th place in 2006, and received a score of 3.98 out of seven this year. Market size, higher education and innovation were the only three pillars in which Ukraine scored in the top half of the list. The economic study revealed that institutions and goods market efficiency are Ukraine’s weakest points, placing Ukraine 115 and 101, respectively.

Volodymyr Dubrovskiy, a senior economist and member of the supervisory board of think tank CASE Ukraine, a WEF-partner institution in Ukraine, said despite dropping slightly, Ukraine’s position is roughly the same as last year.

“There was a big leap in 2005, mostly because of the post-revolutionary euphoria, but afterwards there was just as large of a drop due to euphoria ending,” he said.

Ukraine’s competitiveness index can be expected to improve in three to five years after going through a “very painful and complex process of change in governing institutions,” he added.