The European economy is attributed to 50 different countries and 742 million people. Like every other continent, Europe also has a differentiation between different regions. Some countries and regions are more developed with a stable economic growth while the others are not so developed. Most of the Europe has the GDP (Gross Domestic Production) per capita much higher than the world’s average. Even those countries which are not as developed have a better GDP than the world’s average as they are striving continuously to catch up to the leading and developed countries. The European Union is currently the wealthiest and the largest economy surpassing even the US. The assets and economic value that Europe represents is more than one third of the total world's wealth.

Strongest Economies of Europe

According to the latest report issued by the World Economic Forum, six European countries have made it to the top 10 Global Competitive Economies. The authority compares and ranks 144 countries based and judged on 12 common parameters like infrastructure, education and innovation. Apart from these six countries, many other European nations are doing fairly well regarding their economic perspective. These are enlisted as follows:

Switzerland

For the sixth consecutive years, Switzerland has been topping the GCI index. It has been performing consistently well in many of the key measures. It has some high-end institutes which are spending a lot on R&D and innovation. The connection between the academia and the real business world is worth noting. This booms the efficiency as the students get a lot of real business world exposure before they come out in the market. Apart from this it has an exceptional infrastructure and all the public institutions are amongst the most effective and transparent ones in the world. The financial markets of Switzerland are highly developed and the macroeconomic market is amongst the most stable ones in the world. The GDP Per Capita of Switzerland is 84,815.41 USD.

Finland

Finland is also going strong in maintaining its stable position in the GCI. Due to a little instability in its macroeconomics condition it has deteriorated its position to one rank below. It suffers from a significant but controllable deficit and public debt. Apart from this factor, it is very strong and dependable on other parameters. It has high rate of public and private investment. With a total GDP of 235.3 billion USD, Finland is going stable with a constant increase in its GDP. The country uses its talent effectively and has strong ties between the universities and the business world for the better grooming of its students. The public institutions are functioning quite well and transparently and the infrastructure is high quality and very well managed.

Germany

This year, according to the GCI, Germany has fallen one rank lower, due to concerns about the institutions and infrastructure. However they are partially balanced out owing to the improvements in the macroeconomic scenario. The main strengths of this country include the businesses sophistication and innovation ecosystem. On-the-job training is amazing and it makes sure that the skills match the job requirement, hence increasing the productivity manifold. The high-quality infrastructure and R&D are a very important factor for Germany in having a good economic ranking. The total GDP for Germany is 3.815 trillion USD. The labor market has also seen decent improvement, but the minimum wage policy might make it go reverse. As the population growth rate of Germany is declining, it must give immigration incentive and opportunities to women in the labor market to make sure that there is sufficient supply of talent in the market.

Netherlands

Netherlands maintains its position by going smoothly in its excellent infrastructure, good education system and the tremendous capacity to innovate. It grooms and trains its talent to get the most benefit out of it. It boasts of an excellent collaboration between the university and business world. The only weakness that hinders the country from securing the top notch position regarding its economic scenario is the weak labor market. It is very rigid especially in terms of hiring and firing. Also the weakness of Dutch Financial System, which makes it harder to access credit adds to the hurdles which are preventing Netherlands from achieving the best economic status. The total GDP is 818.3 billion USD which has increased as compared to the previous years.

The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has shown slight improvement in its economic position, all thanks to the decrease in fiscal deficit and public debt. The best feature that the UK benefits from is the talented labor market and a very well developed financial system. Although there have been a few problems in the recent past in the banking system for businesses regarding the issuance of loans, the overall impact has been managed and controlled well. The total GDP is 2.678 trillion USD. It has a strong ICT take up and a very competitive market which helps the innovative businesses to thrive and flourish. The only thing this country needs to follow is to improve its quality of education especially in the fields of science and math, as both the subjects are imperative for a continuous innovation and growth.