THE LATEST GLOBAL Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) has seen Ireland move up three spots, now ranked in 25th place.

This is our best ranking in the index since 2009. The index scores each country in terms of seven pillars including infrastructure, innovations, health, education and labour market efficiency.

Our highest score was in the area of health and primary education, ranked tenth in the world in terms of primary education.

However we ranked 130th in the world for our macroeconomic environment, dragged down by the government budget balance and gross national savings.

Switzerland retained its first place position, followed by Singapore and the US.

Finland, Germany and the Netherlands ranked well in Europe:

The WEF said today that there is insufficient progress across the board in adopting and implementing structural reforms necessary for long-term economic growth. Despite that, countries in Europe severely hit by the economic crisis have made “significant strides” to improving there markets.

If you’re interested in how the rest of the world did, have  a look at this interactive map:

Click here to view map Click here to view map

Commenting today on our own progress, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said announcements like this “make it easier for me in a very tangible way to go in to boardrooms in cities like Sydney and Melbourne, as well as Boston and Beijing, and try to persuade foreign companies to invest in Ireland”.

“Today’s announcement, coming after a succession of positive economic data including yesterday’s Exchequer returns, gives us further confidence that the plan we have adopted is working,” he said. “The challenge now is to press on with this plan, support the growing economy and create the jobs we need”.

Read: Budget cuts could be “significantly less” says Noonan, but don’t leap for joy just yet>

Read: Tech firms’ tax shifting ‘not an Irish issue’: Bruton>