PH jumps 5 notches in competitiveness ranking

CRANES OVER MAKATI CITY With an economy growing at a robust pace and an efficient workforce to boast of, the Philippines jumped by five notches in this year’s World Competitiveness Ranking. EDWIN BACASMAS file photo

MANILA, Philippines—With an economy growing at a robust pace and an efficient workforce to boast of, the Philippines jumped by five notches in this year’s World Competitiveness Ranking.

From 43rd last year, the Philippines landed 38th in this year’s global survey on competitiveness conducted by international business school IMD. There are 60 countries covered by the annual survey.

A country’s ranking results from queries to respondents, mostly from the business sector, focused on four main categories: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

In the area of economic performance, the Philippines improved its ranking by 11 notches from 42nd last year to 31st this year.

This came about following its encouraging growth performance last year, when its economy grew by 6.6 percent, surpassing the government’s target of 5 percent to 6 percent.

In this year’s survey, the United States gained the top spot, while Switzerland landed second.

Other countries in the Top 10 are: Hong Kong, Sweden, Singapore, Norway, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Germany and Qatar, which landed on the 3rd to the 10th spots, respectively.

The countries at the Bottom 10 are: Brazil, Slovenia, South Africa, Greece, Romania, Jordan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Argentina. They landed on the 51st to the 60th spots, respectively.—Michelle V. Remo