Croatia was ranked 27th in the UNCTAD report on the effects of trade on development and living standards.
Croatia Ranked 27th in UNCTAD Report on Effects of Trade on Development, Living Standards
Croatia is ranked 27th on a list of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which is part of an annual report on trade and development comparing the effects of foreign trade and export on living standards in 110 countries.
Denmark is ranked first, and it is followed by the United States, Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Canada.
Of the new European Union members, Cyprus has the best ranking and occupies the 21st position. Slovenia is ranked 22nd, Hungary 26th, and Estonia and Poland 29th and 30th respectively. The last ten positions are occupied by African countries, including Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Sudan.
The relationship between trade and development in a country cannot be measured simply in terms of the country''s economic growth and export performance, the UNCTAD says, warning that a country''s success in trade and development combines a number of dimensions that reflect how trade is related to the range of choices available to people in a particular country at a given moment.
The UNCTAD has therefore drawn up a catalogue of determinants indicating how developed foreign trade benefits citizens. The catalogue consists of three groups of factors - structural and institutional factors, trade policies and processes, and the level of development.
Structural and institutional factors include human capital, physical infrastructure, financial environment, institutional quality, economic structure and environmental sustainability.
Trade policies and processes include openness to trade and effective access to foreign markets, while the level of development includes economic development, social development and gender development.
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