Utrecht is the most competitive region in the European Union, according to the EU’s 2013 competition ranking, which is currently being finalised.

The draft version puts Utrecht above the London metropolitan area and an area of rural England around Oxford. Noord-Holland (including Amsterdam) and Flevoland are in fifth place and Zuid-Holland, which includes Rotterdam, is 10th.

The ranking of 73 European regions is worked out by looking at the area’s institutions, macro-economic stability, infrastructure, health and school education. These are considered to be ‘the key basic drivers of all types of economies’, the report says.

The finalised version of the report is due out in September.