IMD, the International Institute for Management Development, has published its latest World Competitiveness Yearbook, announcing the competitiveness ranking of 61 economies.

The United States remains at the top of the ranking for the third straight year, followed by China's Hong Kong and Singapore. Switzerland dropped to number four from last year's number two. Nine economies from the top 10 are also listed in the top 10 of the business efficiency factor ranking.

The Chinese mainland moved up one place to number 22, surpassing Japan, and the increase stemmed from improvements in education and public expenditure.

Japan's ranking continued to decline for the third consecutive year. It dropped six places from last year to number 27.

China's Taiwan went up two places, ranking 11th.

The annual report has been issued since 1989. It measures several aspects of each global economy as a place to conduct business, taking into account four main factors including economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

The following is the ranking of the world's top 10 most competitive economies.

 Germany

Germany [File photo]

Overall score: 85.637

Ranking in 2014: 6

Change: -4