Singapore retained its position at the third spot of the yearly global competitiveness study conducted by IMD World Competitiveness Center. The study published on May 27 featured 61 economies across the globe. Each country is analyzed based on different aspects that measure its viability and attractiveness as business location. These include economic stability, infrastructure, innovation, cost, and business efficiency.
For the second consecutive year, the United States of America outranked the world in terms of competitiveness. Its robust business environment, resilient economy, effective infrastructure, and strong financial sector all played an important role in helping keep its position. Hong Kong generated the highest ranking in the region, leaping from the fourth spot last year to the second spot this year.
Arturo Bris, Director of IMD World Competitiveness Center, underscored the importance productivity and efficiency. According to him, these factors are the main drivers of competitiveness. “Competitiveness of countries is greatly correlated to the ability of enterprises to remain profitable over time,” he added.
Despite having one of the lowest ranking for cost of living (58th) and immigration laws (57th), Singapore was able to top some government efficiency indicators including ease in doing business and government decisions. Overall, Singapore ranked 12th in productivity and business efficiency.
European countries dominated the Top Ten List for this year’s competitiveness index, although the results compared to last year’s index are mixed. Switzerland dropped two spots from second to fourth spot this year. Canada jumped two spots from seventh in 2014 to fifth this year, Luxembourg improved from the eleventh spot to sixth; Norway at seventh spot; Denmark slightly dropped from ninth to eight spot; Sweden climbed four spots from fifth to ninth spot; and Germany which dropped from sixth last year to occupying the tenth spot in 2015.
The results in Asia are also varied. Countries like Malaysia, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia saw a slight decline in ranking compared to 2014 results. According to Arturo Bris, this may be a result of geopolitical and macroeconomic issues. Meanwhile, Taiwan, South Korean and Philippines experienced progress that made it slightly advanced in ranking.
The five countries at the bottom of the list include Mongolia, Croatia, Argentina, Ukraine and Venezuela respectively. Ironically, despite the tension in Greece’s financial and political sector over the past year, it showed an improvement in ranking climbing from fifty-seventh in the past year to fiftieth spot this year.
To view the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook featuring the complete list of economies ranked accordingly, visit:
