Australia voted 'the place to be' during the recession

As part of the survey, Servcorp asked 7,500 international businesspeople from more than 24 nations to identify which countries they believe are surviving the crisis the best. Australia emerged as the clear leader, with 20% of all international businesspeople citing it as the country that is surviving best, well ahead of its nearest competitors.

The survey was commissioned to understand the current mood, business morale and impact the economic downturn has had on businesses around the world.

Taine Moufarrige, Servcorp Executive Director says: "In my experience working with international businesses around the world, especially during the last six months, I've noticed how relatively unaffected Australian businesses and the Australian businessperson's attitude by the economic downturn.

Over 71% of Australian businesspeople believe we are the "lucky country" and it's interesting to see that the rest of the world agrees."

Surprisingly, Australian businesspeople are more worried about the low morale levels in the media than the dismal world economy, with the survey revealing this is the number one concern for Australian businesses in the current economic climate.

Over 25% of Australian businesspeople also cited the way the Australian Government responded to the crisis as a concern for their business.

"I think the doom and gloom reports that Australians hear every day are harmful to Australian businesses and holds them back from seeing the opportunities that are present in the current economic climate. This is a time when Australian business confidence needs to be supported and encouraged in the media and by the Australian Government.

"What the survey reveals is that despite the global economy giving the world a hard knock, Australian businesses remain in good shape and should emerge from the global economic crisis even stronger than before," Mr. Moufarrige continued.

The table below shows the top 10 countries perceived to be surviving the crisis best:

1st Australia

2nd China

3rd India, Singapore

5th Hong Kong

6th Canada

7th Japan,Qatar

9th New Zealand

10th Malaysia, Sweden, Vietnam

For a full copy of the Servcorp International Business Confidence Survey results, please visit http://www.servcorp.com.au/Contents/STATIC/ENG/Press/survey.htm