PH slips eight places in World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness report

The Philippines has fallen by eight notches in this year’s World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Global Competitiveness Report, placing it around the middle of the pack in the rankings, which provide an assessment of countries’ potential for long-term economic growth.

Released today, the report showed the Philippines earning a score of 61.9 out of 100, enough for it to land at 64 out of 141 countries and territories surveyed. In 2018, the Philippines was in 56th place.

The report measures the competitiveness of a country based on 103 indicators organized into 12 sectors. The Philippines performed reasonably well in terms of its labor market, market size, financial system, and business dynamism, but did especially poorly in the institutions, infrastructure, and health sectors.

The Philippines’ score also took a hit from major drops in the ICT adoption and macroeconomic stability sectors compared to the previous year.

Singapore emerged in the top spot in this year’s competitiveness rankings, with a score of 84.8, followed by the United States (83.7), Hong Kong (83.1), the Netherlands (82.4), and Switzerland (82.3).

The Makati Business Club, the WEF’s Philippine partner, said in a statement that, based on the report, the Philippines needs to improve its educational system. Chairman Edgar Chua said: “We would like to stress the need to foster investments in human capital, and matching the benefits of innovation with talent development and a well-functioning labor market.”

“Innovation in education is the key. We should use technology in classrooms and on training grounds. Furthermore, the upskilling of workers will help us meet the changing demands of industries,” he added.

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