Forbes magazine increased Russia’s rating by 14 places in its list of the “best countries for business” in 2013. Now, Russia occupies the 91st position, a ranking between those of the Philippines and Paraguay.

According to the Forbes publication, Russia experienced a higher level of innovation and freedom in the trade sector of the economy. This placed the country at the 78th place and the 74th place respectively in the two categories. Forbes also pointed out that there is a number of limiting factors constraining the growth of the Russian economy. Those factors include a diminishing workforce, corruption, as well as weak infrastructure capitalization.

The list’s leaders were Ireland, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. New Zealand topped the list last year. The United States has been steadily dropping its ranking since 2009, starting at the second place. In 2012, the U.S. occupied the 12th place on the list. This year, the United States dropped to the 14th position. Other top 10 leaders were Denmark, which was ranked at the fourth position, Sweden, which ended up in the fifth place, Finland at the sixth place, Singapore at the seventh place, Canada at the eighth place, and Norway in the ninth spot.

Forbes magazine evaluates 145 countries of the world every year based on reports produced by the Freedom House, the Heritage Foundation, the Property Alliance, Transparency International, the World Bank, as well as the World Economic Forum. Forbes uses 11 parameters to gauge each country’s performance. Those indicators include property rights enforcement, innovation, taxes, technology, the level of corruption, personal and monetary freedom, investor protection, and stock market performance.