MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The report added that Russia's result was the result of strengthened fundamentals, such as the quality and quantity of education and innovation capacity, as well as improved domestic business environment.
"The Russian Federation fell into recession in 2015, with its GDP shrinking by 3.7 percent, but nonetheless remained rather stable in terms of its competitiveness (up two places at 43rd)," The Global Competitiveness Report 2016–2017 said.
Since 1979, WEF experts have issued annual global competitiveness reports based on the metrics of economic growth, cultural development and what it calls a "Global Competiveness Index," taking into account information gathered from some 140 countries.
