Good for Business, Lithuania, Rating

Switzerland retained its title as the world's top talent hub, while Europe lead the way in fostering the best conditions for competitiveness in a skills-scarce global economy.

Denmark was placed second and Sweden, was in the third place.

The Top 10 was completed by Austria (4th), Luxembourg (5th), Norway (6th), Iceland (7th), Finland (8th), the Netherlands (9th) and Singapore (10th).

The countries at the top of the rankings share strong levels of investment in education and a high quality of life.

Estonia ranks 27th this year, Latvia is 34th and Poland is 37th.

International ratings are increasingly reflecting efforts by Lithuanian state institutions, educational establishments and businesses, Marius Skuodis, a vice minister of economy and innovation, said.

Lithuania received the highest score in the investment and development category, inching down, however, to the 13th position from the 14th. Meanwhile the country rose in the appeal (from 46 to 4635 and readiness category (from 45 to 33).

"The breakthrough in these groups were influenced by the increase in workforce, better assessment of university services, a change in the attitude towards executives' education, as well as workers' good foreign language knowledge," Skuodis said.

The IMD World Talent Ranking is based on countries’ performance in three main categories — investment and development, appeal and readiness. The three categories assess how countries perform in a wide range of areas under 32 criteria. 

These include education, apprenticeships, workplace training, language skills, cost of living, quality of life, remuneration and tax rates.