Iran has dropped another step in the 2018 competitiveness ranking.

According to the annual economic competitiveness report published by the World Economic Forum, among 140 countries, Iran is placed at 89, which is one level lower from last year.

United States, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan are the best countries in economic competitiveness, and Chad, Yemen, and Haiti are at the bottom of the list.

The competitiveness measure assesses four general areas of “empowering environment, labor force, market, and the innovation ecosystem”. The four areas each have twelve measures which include: “Institutions, infrastructure, information, and communication technology (ICT) adoption, macroeconomic stability, health, skills, product market, labor market, financial system, market size, business dynamism, and innovation capability.”

Among the 15 Middle Eastern and North African countries on the list, Iran is only above Algeria, Yemen, and Egypt. Among these countries, Israel at 20, Emirates at 27, and Saudi Arabia at 39 are the highest ranked countries of the region.

In the report, countries are divided into four categories based on their income: High income, moderately high income, moderately low income, and low income. Iran is in the moderately high-income category. There are 34 countries in this group, and there are only 7 countries in the worst position than Iran. Malaysia, China, Thailand, Russia, and Mexico are at the top of this list.

Iran’s best rank was 19 in market size, which is normal due to the increase in population. Iran’s worst rank was 136 in the labor force.