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MANILA, Philippines —The Philippines lies below the middle on a list of countries drawn up by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum according to their ability to unlock the potential of their human resources.
WEF’s first Human Capital Index ranked the Philippines 66th out of 122 countries that were assessed by “measuring contributors and inhibitors to the development and deployment of a healthy, educated and able labor force.”
This new index aims to help countries make the right decisions when investing in the economic potential of their people. It measures countries’ ability to develop and deploy healthy, educated and able workers through four distinct pillars: education; health and wellness; workforce and employment; and enabling environment.
Switzerland topped the 122-country index, followed by Finland. Germany ranked sixth and the US debuted at 16th, WEF said in a press statement Tuesday night.
The Human Capital Index ranked Singapore third in the world and the best performer in Asia-Pacific. Other top performers in the region were Japan (15th), Malaysia (22nd) and South Korea (23rd). China ranked 43rd.
The Philippines ranked lower than Thailand (44th) and Indonesia (53rd) but higher than Vietnam (70th) and India (78th). Within Asia-Pacific, Cambodia (96th), Bangladesh (110th) and Pakistan (112nd) ranked the lowest.
The Philippines is likewise just in the middle of the pack among Asia-Pacific countries, garnering a score of – 0.161 versus Singapore’s +1.232, Malaysia’s +0.644, Thailand’s +0.158, Indonesia’s +0.001 and Vietnam’s -0.202.
The 122 countries assessed in this new index represent over 90 percent of the world’s population. The report noted that a nation’s human capital endowment – productive skills and capacities – could be a more important determinant of long-term economic success than virtually any other resource. It also identified an urgent need for investment at the earliest stages, as well as later in life, to generate returns for individuals as well as an economy.
“The key for the future of any country and any institution lies in the skills and talent of its people,” said Klaus Schwab, WEF founder and executive chair. “In the future, human capital will be the most important kind of capital. Investing in people is not just a nice-to-have; it is imperative for growth, prosperity and progress.”
Saadia Zahidi, senior director and head of the Human Capital project at the WEF said: “Some countries face an aged or ageing population, others face youth bulges, a few even face both. For some, this means confronting a major upcoming talent crunch, while for others it means developing mechanisms that allow it to realize their population’s potential rather than letting it develop into a burden. In this light, the Human Capital Index is a tool for understanding where countries stand today so that government and business can engage in workforce planning for the future.”
Singapore’s strong performance was based on high workforce and employment score, which was second highest in the world. It also scored highly in terms of education and enabling environment although less well in terms of health and wellness.
Japan’s performance was strong across health and wellness, although quality of education, particularly in management schools, remains a persistent issue. In addition, low levels of integration of the “silver workforce” were cited as a barrier.
China, at 43, benefited from low unemployment and high business perceptions of skill levels, but was held back by health measures, the quality of its legal framework and low levels of tertiary education in the current workforce, a score that will likely change in the coming years.
The findings indicated that many of the strongest performances came from countries in northern and western Europe, which accounted for eight of the top 10 positions, with the notable exceptions of Singapore and Canada (10th).