Croatia moved one place down compared to 2012 and is now ranked 58th out of the 60 economies, according to the IMD 2013 World Competitiveness Report,

This year's results again clearly point to the need for urgent structural reforms which must include both the public and private sectors so that the national competitiveness could go up. The economic crisis we are going through and the IMD analysis clearly indicate that small, export-oriented and stable economies would have an easier time recovering from the consequences of the current crisis. I see in this an opportunity for the strengthening of national competitiveness. We must be more focused on improving our business efficiency but we also must be more flexible and adaptable to changes," said head of the Croatian Competitiveness Council Ivica Mudrinic.

The US has regained the No. 1 spot in 2013, thanks to a rebounding financial sector, an abundance of technological innovation and successful companies.

China (21) and Japan (24) are also increasing their competitiveness. In the case of Japan, Abenomics seems to be having an initial impact on the dynamism of the economy.

In Europe, the most competitive nations include Switzerland (2), Sweden (4) and Germany (9), whose success relies upon export-oriented manufacturing, diversified economies, strong small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and fiscal discipline. Like last year, the rest of Europe is heavily constrained by austerity programs that are delaying recovery and calling into question the timeliness of the measures proposed.