Ireland’s economy up global rankings

Ireland has jumped nine places in the latest global competitiveness rankings to be named the seventh most competitive economy in the world.

The IMD World Competitiveness Centre reserved particular praise for the country’s business efficiency, which it ranked second globally, behind only Hong Kong, which also topped the overall rankings.

Hong Kong jumped two places in the centre’s 2016 rankings, while Switzerland climbed two spots to knock the US into third in the overall rankings, having topped the pile last year.