About the Global Competitiveness Index
The Global Competitiveness Index 2014–2015 Rankings
Competitiveness is defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that
determine a country’s level of productivity. The level of productivity, in turn,
sets the level of prosperity that can be reached by an economy.
Covering 144 economies, the Global Competitiveness Index 2014–2015 measures
national competitiveness—defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that
determine the level of productivity.
Since 2005, the World Economic Forum has based its competitiveness analysis on
the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), a comprehensive framework that measures
the microeconomic and macroeconomic foundations of national competitiveness,
grouped into 12 categories.
To produce The Global Competitiveness Report, as well as other
regional and industry benchmarking reports, the World Economic
Forum relies on a large set of data sourced from international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations and the International
Monetary Fund, and from its own annual Executive Opinion Survey.
The Survey captures invaluable information on a broad range of economic and social factors, for which data sources are non-existent,
too scarce, unreliable, or outdated. In 2014, the Survey captured the
opinions of over 13,000 business executives.
The GCI Framework: The 12 Pillars of Competitiveness
Infrastructure
Institutions
Concepts related to protection of property rights,
efficiency and transparency of public administration,
independence of the judiciary, physical security,
business ethics and corporate governance
Macroeconomic environment
Quality and availability of transport, electricity
and communication infrastructures
Fiscal and monetary indicators, savings rate and
sovereign debt rating
Transport infrastructure
Electricity & telephony infrastructure
Public institutions
Private institutions
Health & primary education
State of public health, quality and quantity of
basic education
Innovation
BASIC REQUIREM
EN
TS
Business sophistication
Quality and quantity of higher education, and
quality and availability of on-the-job training
Quantity of education
Quality of education
On-the-job training
RS
Efficiency and sophistication of
business processes in the country
Higher education & training
INNOVATION
SOPHISTICAT AND
ION
Capacity for, and commitment
to technological innovation
Health
Primary education
Market size
E F FIC IE N C Y
A
ENH
N
CE
Factors that drive the intensity of domestic and
foreign competition, and demand conditions
Size of the domestic and export markets
Domestic market size
Foreign market size
Technological readiness
Adoption of the technologies by
individuals and businesses.
Technological adoption
ICT use
Goods market efficiency
Competition
Quality of demand conditions
Financial market development
Efficiency, stability and trustworthiness of
the financial and banking system
Efficiency
Trustworthiness and confidence
Labour market efficiency
Labour market efficiency and flexibility, meritocracy and gender parity in the workplace
Flexibility
Efficient use of talent
Economy
Score1 Prev. 2 Trend3
Economy
Score1 Prev. 2 Trend3
Economy
Score1 Prev. 2 Trend3
1
Switzerland
5.70
1
49
Italy
4.42
49
97
Albania
3.84
95
2
Singapore
5.65
2
50
Kazakhstan
4.42
50
98
Mongolia
3.83
107
3
United States
5.54
5
51
Costa Rica
4.42
54
99
Nicaragua
3.82
99
4
Finland
5.50
3
52
Philippines
4.40
59
100
Honduras
3.82
111
5
Germany
5.49
4
53
Russian Federation
4.37
64
101
Dominican Republic
3.82
105
6
Japan
5.47
9
54
Bulgaria
4.37
57
102
Nepal
3.81
117
7
Hong Kong SAR
5.46
7
55
Barbados
4.36
47
103
Bhutan
3.80
109
4.35
53
3.79
104
8
Netherlands
5.45
8
56
South Africa
104
Argentina
9
United Kingdom
5.41
10
57
Brazil
4.34
56
105
Bolivia
3.77
98
10
Sweden
5.41
6
58
Cyprus
4.31
58
106
Gabon
3.74
112
11
Norway
5.35
11
59
Romania
4.30
76
107
Lesotho
3.73
123
12
United Arab Emirates
5.33
19
60
Hungary
4.28
63
108
Kyrgyz Republic
3.73
121
13
Denmark
5.29
15
61
Mexico
4.27
55
109
Bangladesh
3.72
110
14
Taiwan, China
5.25
12
62
Rwanda
4.27
66
110
Suriname
3.71
106
15
Canada
5.24
14
63
Macedonia, FYR
4.26
73
111
Ghana
3.71
114
16
Qatar
5.24
13
64
Jordan
4.25
68
112
Senegal
3.70
113
17
New Zealand
5.20
18
65
Peru
4.24
61
113
Lebanon
3.68
103
18
Belgium
5.18
17
66
Colombia
4.23
69
114
Cape Verde
3.68
122
19
Luxembourg
5.17
22
67
Montenegro
4.23
67
115
Côte d'Ivoire
3.67
126
20
Malaysia
5.16
24
68
Vietnam
4.23
70
116
Cameroon
3.66
115
21
Austria
5.16
16
69
Georgia
4.22
72
117
Guyana
3.65
102
22
Australia
5.08
21
70
Slovenia
4.22
62
118
Ethiopia
3.60
127
23
France
5.08
23
71
India
4.21
60
119
Egypt
3.60
118
24
Saudi Arabia
5.06
20
72
Morocco
4.21
77
120
Paraguay
3.59
119
25
Ireland
4.98
28
73
Sri Lanka
4.19
65
121
Tanzania
3.57
125
26
Korea, Rep.
4.96
25
74
Botswana
4.15
74
122
Uganda
3.56
129
27
Israel
4.95
27
75
Slovak Republic
4.15
78
123
Swaziland
3.55
124
28
China
4.89
29
76
Ukraine
4.14
84
124
Zimbabwe
3.54
131
29
Estonia
4.71
32
77
Croatia
4.13
75
125
Gambia, The
3.53
116
30
Iceland
4.71
31
78
Guatemala
4.10
86
126
Libya
3.48
108
31
Thailand
4.66
37
79
Algeria
4.08
100
127
Nigeria
3.44
120
32
Puerto Rico
4.64
30
80
Uruguay
4.04
85
128
Mali
3.43
135
33
Chile
4.60
34
81
Greece
4.04
91
129
Pakistan
3.42
133
34
Indonesia
4.57
38
82
Moldova
4.03
89
130
Madagascar
3.41
132
35
Spain
4.55
35
83
Iran, Islamic Rep.
4.03
82
131
Venezuela
3.32
134
36
Portugal
4.54
51
84
El Salvador
4.01
97
132
Malawi
3.25
136
37
Czech Republic
4.53
46
85
Armenia
4.01
79
133
Mozambique
3.24
137
38
Azerbaijan
4.53
39
86
Jamaica
3.98
94
134
Myanmar
3.24
139
39
Mauritius
4.52
45
87
Tunisia
3.96
83
135
Burkina Faso
3.21
140
40
Kuwait
4.51
36
88
Namibia
3.96
90
136
Timor-Leste
3.17
138
41
Lithuania
4.51
48
89
Trinidad and Tobago
3.95
92
137
Haiti
3.14
143
42
Latvia
4.50
52
90
Kenya
3.93
96
138
Sierra Leone
3.10
144
43
Poland
4.48
42
91
Tajikistan
3.93
n/a
139
Burundi
3.09
146
44
Bahrain
4.48
43
92
Seychelles
3.91
80
140
Angola
3.04
142
45
Turkey
4.46
44
93
Lao PDR
3.91
81
141
Mauritania
3.00
141
46
Oman
4.46
33
94
Serbia
3.90
101
142
Yemen
2.96
145
47
Malta
4.45
41
95
Cambodia
3.89
88
143
Chad
2.85
148
48
Panama
4.43
40
96
Zambia
3.86
93
144
Guinea
2.79
147
Advanced
Economies
Middle East,
North Africa, and Pakistan
Emerging and
Developing Asia
1 Scale ranges from 1 to 7.
2 2013-2014 rank out of 148 economies.
3 Evolution in percentile rank since 2007. Sparkline axes are economy specific.
Latin America
and the Caribbean
Commonwealth of
Independent States
Emerging and
Developing Europe
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Key Findings
The Global Competitiveness Map
Smart investment in skills and innovation
is key to enhanced productivity and competitiveness. It also supports more inclusive
growth by allowing everyone to contribute to
and benefit from higher levels of prosperity.
Economies that consistently rank high in the
competitiveness rankings are those that are
able to develop, attract and retain talent, and
constantly introduce new and higher value-added products and services into
the market.
Global recovery to date has to a large
extent been driven by monetary policy.
To secure long-term growth, high-quality
job creation and sustained prosperity will
require decision-makers to raise productivity and competitiveness through structural
reform. Progress on this score has been
uneven to date, in advanced and emerging
economies alike.
Switzerland ranks 1st for the sixth
consecutive year, thanks to excellent
results in most areas underpinning
competitiveness. This includes
innovation, business sophistication,
higher education and labour market
efficiency. Looking ahead, businesses and research institutions may
increasingly face difficulties in finding
the talent they need to preserve their
outstanding capacity for innovation,
key to Switzerland’s prosperity.
Public-Private Collaboration
Smart Investing
Reforming for Prosperity
Effective collaboration between business,
government and civil society is a necessary
prerequisite if reforms and investment are to
raise productivity and competitiveness. This
calls for strong public and private leadership, a clear vision and effective and ongoing communication to build trust between
all parties. It is therefore crucial to create
mechanisms and fora to promote dialogue.
Most Problematic Factors for Doing Business
Brazil
Other
China
Other
Corruption
The United States rises to 3rd position
on the back of improvements in a
number of areas, including institutional
framework, business sophistication
and innovation. Yet it still remains to
be seen whether these improvements
will be sufficient to drive economic
recovery over the longer term.
European Union
Access to finance
Other
Tax regulations
Access to finance
Red tape
Other
Corruption
Red tape
Tax regulations
Infrastructure
Infrastructure
Tax rates
Inadequately
educated workforce
Other
Infrastructure
Tax regulations
Labor regulations
Nigeria
United States
Other
Labor regulations
Other
Infrastructure
90–100%
Most
80–90%
competitive
Latin America needs to address its
productivity challenge and boost
competitiveness to keep the positive
economic momentum of past years.
The region must implement structural
reforms to improve the functioning of
its markets and invest in infrastructure,
skills development and innovation.
70–80%
60–70%
Tax rates
40–50%
Workforce ethics
Red tape
30–40%
Tax regulations
20–30%
Policy
instability
Red tape
Labor regulations
Corruption
Access to finance
Access to finance
Red tape
Access to finance
MAURITANIA
India
Africa’s largest economy both in
terms of GDP and population drops
seven places this year and is now
ranked 127th. To put the country
on a sustainable path to long-run
growth, basic requirements for
competitiveness—institutions,
infrastructure, health and primary
education—need to be prioritized.
competitive
0–10%
Not covered
Note: From a list of 16 issues, Survey respondents were asked to select the five most problematic for doing business in their country and to rank them between 1 (most problematic) and 5.
In the charts above, slices are drawn according to weighted scores out of 100.
On a downward trend since
2007 and dropping by 11
more places this year, India
ranks 71st. The new government faces the challenge
of addressing the country’s
competitiveness weaknesses
and reviving the economy,
which is currently growing at
half the rate of 2010.
Nigeria
Least
10–20%
The competitiveness dynamics in the
Southeast Asia region are truly remarkable. Behind Singapore (2nd), the region’s
five largest countries (ASEAN-5), Malaysia
(20th), Thailand (31st), Indonesia (34th),
the Philippines (52th)—the most improved
country since 2010—and Vietnam (68th),
have all progressed in the rankings.
This contrasts starkly with the weak
performance of most South Asian nations.
There are large regional variations
in competitiveness in sub-Saharan
Africa—ranging from Mauritius at
39th to Guinea at 144th. To turn
current high growth rates into
sustainable and inclusive growth,
countries in the region must
address the infrastructure deficit
and provide their rising young
populations with the necessary
skills to engage in higher
value-added employment.
Latin America
50–60%
Inadequately
educated
workforce
Sub-Saharan Africa
Global Competitiveness
Index Percentile Rank
Tax rates
Red tape
Gulf Cooperation Council
Southeast Asia
Access to finance
Labor regulations
Red tape
There is a stark competitiveness divide
in Europe between highly productive
countries and those lagging behind.
The divide should also be viewed as
one between those countries that are
implementing the necessary structural
reforms and those that are not.
United States
Here are the five most problematic factors for doing business in selected (individual or group of)
economies based on the results of the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey 2014 .
ASEAN
Europe
Switzerland
Note: Unless mentioned otherwise, the ranks
cited in the country and regional highlights are
the Global Competitiveness Index overall rank
among 144 economies.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (12th) takes
the lead in the Middle East and North
Africa region this year. The reforms put
in place to enhance competitiveness
are paying off: its institutional framework, infrastructure, macroeconomic
stability and ICT infrastructure have
all improved.
Regional Rankings
7
Advanced Economies
6
GCI score
5
4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
14
15
17
18
19
21
22
23
25
Commonwealth of
Independent States
Emerging and Developing Europe
26
27
Emerging and Developing Asia
AVG.
29
30
32
35
36
37
42
47
49
58
20
41
70
75
81
43
45
54
59
60
63
67
AVG.
77
94
97
38
50
53
69
76
AVG.
82
85
91
Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan
12
28
31
34
52
68
108
71
73
AVG.
93
95
98
102 103 109
3
Sub-Saharan Africa
7
6
16
24
40
44
46
33
64
72
79
83
AVG.
87
113 119
134 136
Latin America and the Caribbean
126 129
141 142
48
51
55
57
61
39
65
66
78
80
84
86
89
AVG.
99
100 101 104 105 110
117 120
131
137
56
62
5
74
88
90
92
96
106 107 111 112 114 115 116
118 121 122 123 124 125
127 128 130
AVG.
132 133 135
138 139 140
143 144
4
3
2
2
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