If you want to take that approach, then why not compare Skåne to Staten Island, Zuid-Holland to Manhattan etc. These European countries aren't homogeneous blobs

If you want to take that approach, then why not compare Skåne to Staten Island, Zuid-Holland to Manhattan etc. These European countries aren't homogeneous blobs either. You shouldn't feel competitive (pun intended) about this kind of lists anyway, it's just a score on criteria some organization called "WEF" values for reasons that are their own. You don't have to 'win' every ranking, if you "win" one, you're going to lose another that uses different criteria.