U.S. Not Tops in Global Technology Use

This info is a bit surprising, but according to a recent study, the U.S. trails countries like Sweden, Singapore and Switzerland in technology use. In order to make up the difference, I plan to spend the next two weekends watching hours upon hours of YouTube videos of house pets whose owners insist they are talking (they think they’re people). USA! USA! PR Daily offers:

You wouldn’t know it judging by the sea of smartphones and mobile tablets on public transportation every morning, but the United States is lagging (relatively speaking) in its use of computing and communications technology.

According to an annual study by the World Economic Forum, the U.S. finished fifth among 138 counties in technology use.

Sweden, Singapore, Finland, and Switzerland topped the U.S. in tech use. Canada ranked No. 8, and Great Britain was No. 15.

The rankings are based on 71 economic and social indicators.

A surprise: China and India each fell five places from 2009, ranking 36th and 48th, respectively.

We’re No. 2 … in Economic Ranking

The World Economic Forum takes Geneva over Washington in its latest global competitiveness report. In other words, Switzerland tops the United States in the ranking of world economies. It is the first time out of the No. 1 spot for the U.S. since the rankings were revised in 2004.

Why the downgrade? The report cites banking system troubles, concerns about the "government’s ability to maintain distance from the private sector" and doubts about firms’ auditing and reporting standards.

The Swiss, who also dipped into recession and had to bail out their largest bank (UBS), were lauded for "capacity to innovate, sophisticated business culture, effective public services, excellent infrastructure and well-functioning goods markets."

In the banking category, Canada led the way. The U.S. was 108th (behind Tanzania) and the British 126th.

Public data and an executive opinion survey are used to compile the rankings. Behind the Swiss and the Americans are: Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Canada and the Netherlands.

At the bottom were African countries Zimbabwe and Burundi. For Zimbabwe, the report cited "corruption, basic government inefficiency and the complete absence of property rights."