The Global Competitiveness Index As an Indicator of Sustainable Development

The competitiveness of 41 European countries, based on the global competitiveness index, is analyzed for the period 2014-2016, proving that this indicator is primarily determined not by any one factor or by several factors but by all of those included in the index. The author evaluates the contribution of each factor to the value of the global competitiveness index using various statistical methods, as well as additional data from the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Reports 2014-2016. The analysis of the competitiveness of the European countries in line with the global competitiveness index helps reveal the specifics of the existing regional socioeconomic differentiation compared to averaged European data. These characteristics should be considered when building the national competitive strategy of each state of the region. The study reveals a high correlation between a country's rating for the global competitiveness index and the human development index, the gross domestic product per capita, the level of gender inequality, and the competitiveness of the travel and tourism industry.