Sweden was named the world's most 'responsibly competitive' nation in a report released by the London-based research institute AccountAbility.

Nordic nations topped the ranking, which looked at whether countries had ratified international environmental and labour treaties, and assessed their carbon dioxide emissions, auditing standards, civil liberties and other social measures.

Britain was placed fifth, behind Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Norway, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and Canada rounded out the top 10.

The study was released at a UN meeting of more than 1,000 business and government leaders in Geneva on ways to improve corporate governance. Reuters