India has been ranked 45th, down four notches from last year, in terms of competitiveness in the annual rankings compiled by IMD which saw Hong Kong topping the list.

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US was "pushed out" of the top three slots while Hong Kong consolidated its dominance of the annual rankings for the second year in the list compiled by the International Institute for Management Development's (IMD) World Competitiveness Center.

Switzerland and Singapore were ranked second and third respectively, with the USA at the fourth spot -- its lowest position in five years and down from third last year.

The Netherlands completed the top five, jumping up from eighth last year.

Others in the top 10 list include Ireland at 6th, Denmark 7th, Luxembourg (8th), Sweden (9th) and UAE at 10th.

As India slid, China improved its position by seven places to 18th, thanks to its dedication to international trade.

"If you look at China, its improvement of seven places to 18th can be traced to its dedication to international trade. This continues to drive the economy and the improvement in government and business efficiency," Professor Arturo Bris, Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center said.

The bottom of the table, meanwhile, is largely occupied by countries experiencing political and economic upheaval. Ukraine was ranked 60th, while Brazil was placed at the 61st position and Venezuela at 63rd.

The IMD World Competitiveness Center is a research group at IMD business school in Switzerland. It has been publishing the rankings every year since 1989. This year's list comprises 63 countries with Cyprus and Saudi Arabia making their first appearance.

Meanwhile, for the first time this year, the IMD World Competitiveness Center also published a separate report ranking countries' digital competitiveness.

At the top of the digital ranking is Singapore, followed by Sweden, the USA, Finland and Denmark, while the bottom five are Indonesia, Ukraine, Mongolia, Peru and Venezuela.