WEF competitive economy rankings: Swiss first, UK eighth, India 59th

For the fourth year in a row, Switzerland was named the most competitive economy in the world, the Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 by the World Economic Forum found.

Singapore maintained its second position followed by Finland 3rd), Sweden (4th) and the Netherlands (5th).

Germany retained its sixth ranking and the UK ranked eight just one rank below the US. Hong Kong (9th) and Japan (10th) made up the top ten competing economies.

The study revealed the disparity of economic competitiveness in Europe. While western European countries dominated the top ten competitive economies, countries in Southern Europe such as Spain (36th), Italy (42nd), Portugal (49th) and Greece (96th) remained weak economies marred by the European debt crisis, rigid labour markets and lack of investment. France was at number 21 and Ireland at number 27.

As for the UK, the report noted that Britain continues to have sophisticated and innovative businesses that are highly adept at harnessing the latest technologies for productivity improvements and operating in a very large market. The financial market also continues its recovery, ranked 13th, up from 20th last year. All these characteristics are important for spurring productivity enhancements, according to the report’s authors.

India’s performance:

In Asia, India slipped three ranks from last year to hold 59th rank. Its economic rival China continued to dominate the competitiveness among BRIC economies with its 29th rank. Russia was two places ahead of India at 67th rank. Brazil was the only BRIC nation to move up in terms of its competitiveness and secured 48th rank.

India has lost ten places since 2009 when it reached its peak at 49th rank. India’s supply of transport, ICT, and energy infrastructure remains largely insufficient and ill-adapted to the needs of the economy, according to the report.

It rated poor infrastructure as the biggest hindrance ahead of corruption and bureaucracy. The picture is even bleaker in the health and basic education pillar in which India ranks 101st. Poor public health and education is harming India’s productivity, the report further noted.

Among India’s neighbours, Pakistan was 124th out of 144 ranks qualifying as one of the least competitive economies while Sri Lanka was at 68th position, Bangladesh was 118th and Nepal 125th.

Among other prominent countries Australia was 20th, New Zealand 23rd, Malaysia 25th and South Africa was 52nd in terms of economic competitiveness.

In the Middle East, Qatar was 11th, Saudi Arabia was 18th and UAE was 24th whereas in North America, only US made it to the top ten list with Canada securing 14th position. In the African continent, a majority of the countries had a ranking of 100+ owing to the deep political unrest in the region.

“Persisting divides in competitiveness across regions and within regions, particularly in Europe, are at the origin of the turbulence we are experiencing today, and this is jeopardizing our future prosperity,” said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of WEF.

“We urge governments to act decisively by adopting long-term measures to enhance competitiveness and return the world to a sustainable growth path,” Schwab added.

The Global Competitiveness Report’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), developed for the WEF in 2004. GCI scores are calculated by drawing together public and private data around 12 key categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that together make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness and takes into account the policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.

Top ten and UK, India rakings as per the WEF competitive economy rankings:

Country	Rank (2012-2013)	Rank (2010-2011)
Switzerland	1	1
Singapore	2	2
Finland	3	4
Sweden	4	3
Netherlands	5	7
Germany	6	6
United States	7	5
United Kingdom	8	10
Hong Kong	9	11
Japan	10	9
India	59	56

Checkout the World Economic Forum's competitiveness rankings report here (PDF).