When it comes to competitiveness, Europe is a story of contrasts, with four distinct groups: a very competitive north-west, including Switzerland; a relatively competitive south-west, led by France; a rising northeast region, led by Poland, Czech Republic and the Baltic countries, which rank on par with or higher than several Western European economies on several aspects of competitiveness; and the south-eastern region—in particular, the Balkan countries—which lags behind the other groups, according to the 2018 edition of the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.

The index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. In 2016, the latest year included in the analysis, Hong Kong and Singapore, as usual, occupy the top two positions. The next highest scoring nations are New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, United States, Georgia, Mauritius, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, the latter two tied for 10th spot. It is worth noting that the United States returned to the top 10 in 2016 after an absence of several years. Canada also returned to the top 10 after coming in 11th in 2015. The Czech Republic ranks 30th.

Boston Consulting Group released their 2018 Sustainable Economic Development Assessement (SEDA) focused on wealth and well-being. The analysis included 152 countries and used data from 2007 through 2016, finding out, among other things, that countries that focus on enhancing well-being not only raise the standard of living of their citizens but also set their country up for stronger and more resilient economic growth.