Global economic rankings

US slips from No. 1 to also-ran in global economic rankings

Published September 11, 2012

FoxNews.com

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  June 13, 2012: Workers assemble the new 2013 Ford Escape on the production line at the company's newly transformed Louisville Assembly Plant in Louisville, Ky. (REUTERS)

The United States is losing its competitive edge. 
So says a new report from the World Economic Forum which found the U.S. slipping in dozens of areas compared with just a few years ago. Perhaps most troubling is the conclusion that since 2008, the United States has slid from No. 1 in the world in "global competitiveness" to No. 7 this year. 

Out-ranking America are: Switzerland, Singapore, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. 

Sure, it's just a number. But the WEF's ranking takes into account a broad range of factors, from debt to corruption to regulation to red tape to education to health care. 

And virtually across the board, the U.S. is falling behind.