The World Economic Forum ranked Australia's economy 19th out of 131 countries for international competitiveness. Competitiveness is defined as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity in a country.
 
According to the World Economic Forum, Australia is particularly strong in four pillars, which reflect the strength and quality of its institutions and the efficiency of its markets. Australia is ranked 7th in the world for financial market sophistication and rates highly for goods and labour market efficiency, quality of public and private institutions and higher education and training.

The World Economic Forum also produces a Business Competitiveness Index (BCI) which captures a range of micro-economic issues vital to the productivity of companies. Factors covered by the BCI include access to highly skilled people, efficiency of government processes, quality of infrastructure and research institutions, and measures of the competitive capabilities of companies such as R & D spending and staff training. In 2007, Australia achieved an overall BCI ranking of 18th in the world.