Dubai: European economies continue to dominate the global competitiveness ranking, with Switzerland ranked top for the eighth consecutive year.
Singapore ranked second, followed by the United States (3rd), the Netherlands (4th), Germany (5th), Sweden (6th) and the United Kingdom (7th), Japan (8th) and Hong Kong (9th), with the remaining positions being all European economies.
While the core European economies maintained or improved their competitiveness rankings, peripheral European economies were down in their rankings. Italy dropped one place to 44 while Greece backtracked five places to 86.
“For all economies in Europe, maintaining and improving prosperity levels will depend heavily on their ability to harness innovation and the talents of their workforces,” the report said.
This year’s report said there are signs of convergence in the competitiveness of the world’s largest emerging markets.
China, on 28, remains top among the Brics grouping although another surge by India — which climbs 16 places to 39 — means there is now less of a gap between it and its peers.
With both Russia and South Africa moving up two places to 43 and 47 respectively only Brazil has declined, falling six places to 81.
The competitiveness gap in East Asia and Pacific, meanwhile, is widening. Although 13 of the 15 economies covered consecutively since 2007 have been able to improve their score over the past decade, this year sees reversals for some of the larger emerging markets in the region: Malaysia dropped out of the top twenty, falling seven places to 25; Thailand slipped two to 34; Indonesia fell four places to 41 while the Philippines dropped ten positions to 57.
“A consistent theme for all the region’s developing countries is the need to make inroads into the more complex areas of competitiveness related to business sophistication and innovation if they are to break out of the middle-income trap, the report said.
Two countries in Latin America and the Caribbean make it into this year’s top 50. Chile, the outlier in the region on 33, climbed two places although the gap is closing with the second-highest ranked economy, Panama (up 8 places to 42). Next came Mexico, which performed strongly with a six-point climb to 51.
One of the most improved nations in sub-Saharan Africa is Rwanda, which rose six places to 52. It is closing in on the region’s traditionally most competitive economies, Mauritius and South Africa, although both these countries registered more modest improvements, climbing to 45 and 47 respectively.
Lower down the ranking, Kenya climbed to 96, Ethiopia held steady at 109 while Nigeria slipped three places to 127.
