New Zealand's world competitiveness rating has fallen sharply, according to a survey taken Thursday by the National Party.

While New Zealand fell from 16th to 22nd place, Australia moved up from ninth to sixth place in Swiss business school IMD's ratings for 61 national and regional economies.

National Party said it is "a big warning sign" for the future of the country.

"What's disturbing about this is that we are slipping behind relative to dozens of other countries while our biggest competitor for skills and capital, Australia, charges further ahead," said National finance spokesman John Key.

The scoreboard is complied by the Swiss-based international business school IMD and is recognized globally as one of the best comparisons of countries and their economic performance.

The IMD's ratings were based on 312 criteria.

During Thursday's Parliament meeting, National MPs urged the government to be concerned about because the result will encourage more New Zealanders to head across the Tasman.

Source: Xinhua