Best Countries for Business 2008

You could call it "the revenge of the old world;" or you could say it's the ability to reinvent a country; or perhaps the advantages of small and nimble versus big and slow.

Whatever you call it, the United States is no longer the best country in the world for business. According to Forbes magazine, that honor goes to the land of the Danes. With all due respect to Shakespeare, there's nothing rotten in Denmark anymore.

Forbes gives Denmark credit for low inflation, low unemployment, entrepreneurship, lower taxes, innovation and technological savvy.

The United States ranked fourth, just ahead of the United Kingdom and behind Ireland and Finland.

The 2008 Forbes list of the top ten countries for business reads as follows:

1. Denmark
2. Ireland
3. Finland
4. United States
5. United Kingdom
6. Sweden
7. Canada
8. Singapore
9. Hong Kong
10.Estonia