Lithuania's business environment ahead of Latvia, Poland but behind Estonia
03.10.2012, 14:57Swedbank Baltic Sea Index (BSI) that covers 11 countries shows that Lithuania is ahead of Latvia, Poland, Russia and Ukraine in terms of busienss environment and opportunities but behind the four Nordic countries, Germany and Estonia,.writes the Baltic Course.
Lithuania scored 6.4 points out of a possible 10. The leading country was named Finland with 9.2 points, while the last place was occupied by Ukraine with 3.9 points. Estonia having collected 7.4 points is ranking the sixth, Latvia with 6.3 points the eighth.
Lithuania is among the 36% of leading countries in the world according to business environment and opportunity.
In summary, Finland is ranked highest, followed by the other Nordic countries, Germany and Estonia. Considering that Finland is now struggling in the face of Nokia’s competitive problems and a current account balance that in a relatively short time has gone from a large surplus to a deficit, it will be interesting to see whether this affects the
index in coming years.
Just below average we find Latvia and Lithuania, followed by Poland. Russia and Ukraine are in the biggest need of structural reform. Swedbank showed the same picture in our previous report, but the ranking between the Nordic countries has changed and Germany has again passed Estonia. Since last year (and even compared with three years ago) Finland, Germany, Russia, Poland and Ukraine have climbed in the ranking, while the other countries have dropped slightly.
The Baltic Sea region is doing relatively well with an average of 7.1, but with big differences between countries. While the Nordic countries and Germany ranked among the world's 12% most competitive and structurally sound countries, Russia and Ukraine are among the world's 40% lowest ranking countries in this respect. Estonia exceeds the regional average, while Latvia, Lithuania and Poland fall slightly below.
Swedbank Baltic Sea Index is based on data supplied by international organizations. It is aimed at business that intends to develop in the region.