JAMAICA’S prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, has been ranked 89th in Forbes Magazine’s 100 most powerful women worldwide.

The magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the world’s most powerful woman.

Following Merkel on Forbes’ annual listing of the 100 most powerful women in the world released Thursday, were United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, ranked second, and China’s vice-premier Wu Yi, ranked third.

Yesterday, Simpson Miller said that she was humbled by her inclusion in Forbes Magazine’s listing of the world’s most powerful women.

Jamaica House said the prime minister, who is the only Caribbean personality to be included in the rankings, accepted the ranking with humility.

“The honour is Jamaica’s and I am happy the country can be ranked by this powerful magazine in the top 100,” Jamaica House quoted Simpson Miller.

According to Forbes Magazine, the rankings were generated by combining various financial figures with global media mentions and biography.

Others on the list included Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet, US Senator Hillary Clinton, and Sonia Gandhi, India’s National Congress Party president.

Under Merkel’s leadership, Europe’s third largest economy, stagnant for five years, is showing signs of revival and grew by two per cent this year, the magazine said on its website. Merkel’s economic restructuring plan has resulted in a huge rise in consumer confidence and Merkel has made a big push to ramp up US investment, using her recent visits to the US to showcase potential markets and promote research in Germany.

The magazine also credited Merkel as the driving force behind opening Deutsche Telekom to investment from an American firm. She has also encouraged the development of the German real estate market.

But the German leader, who oversees a fragile coalition government with her main rivals, still has a tough fight ahead, with approval ratings down to 56 per cent from 80 per cent earlier this year, the magazine said.