The Harvard Kennedy School of Government and MIT have devised a new way to forecast the economic potential of a country. Using the current level of manufacturing capabilities and network theory, researchers project how those skillsets can spread across the manufacturing "space". The Czech Republic is ranked high, and is still gaining on those ranked above. The only dark cloud on the horizon is the decline of German manufacturing prowess.

So as the Czech Republic and other eastern EU countries rise, those in the west fall. In 2013, the most recent year measured, the Czech Republic ranked 8th.