Geneva, Switzerland, 5 September 2012 – Switzerland, for the fourth
consecutive year, tops the overall rankings in The Global
Competitiveness Report 2012-2013, released today by the World Economic
Forum. Singapore remains in second position and Finland in third
position, overtaking Sweden (4th). These and other Northern and
Western European countries dominate the top 10 with the Netherlands
(5th), Germany (6th) and United Kingdom (8th). The United States
(7th), Hong Kong (9th) and Japan (10th) complete the ranking of the
top 10 most competitive economies.
The large emerging market economies (BRICS) display different
performances. Despite a slight decline in the rankings of three
places, the People’s Republic of China (29th) continues to lead the
group. Of the others, only Brazil (48th) moves up this year, with
South Africa (52nd), India (59th) and Russia (67th) experiencing small
declines in rankings.Despite growing its overall competitiveness
score, the United States continues its decline for the fourth year in
a row, falling two more places to seventh position. In addition to the
burgeoning macroeconomic vulnerabilities, some aspects of the
country’s institutional environment continue to raise concern among
business leaders, particularly the low public trust in politicians and
a perceived lack of government efficiency. On a more positive note,
the country still remains a global innovation powerhouse and its
markets work efficiently.The report indicates that Switzerland and
countries in Northern Europe have been consolidating their strong
competitiveness positions since the financial and economic downturn in
2008. On the other hand, countries in Southern Europe, i.e. Portugal
(49th), Spain (36th), Italy (42nd) and particularly Greece (96th)
continue to suffer from competitiveness weaknesses in terms of
macroeconomic imbalances, poor access to financing, rigid labour
markets and an innovation deficit.
Download the full Global Competitiveness rankings
(PDF or Excel format)
Behind Singapore, several Asian economies are performing strongly,
with Hong Kong SAR (9th), Japan (10th), Taiwan, China (13th) and the
Republic of Korea (19th) all in the top 20.
In the Middle East and North Africa, Qatar (11th) leads the region
while Saudi Arabia remains among the top 20 (18th). The United Arab
Emirates (24th) improves its performance while Kuwait (37th) slightly
declines. Morocco (70th) and Jordan (63rd) improve slightly. In
sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa (52nd) and Mauritius (54th) feature
in the top half of the rankings. However, most countries in the region
continue to require efforts across the board to improve their
competitiveness.
In Latin America, Chile (33rd) retains the lead and a number of
countries see their competitiveness improve, such as Panama (40th),
Brazil (48th), Mexico (53rd) and Peru (61st). Read more highlights of
the report.
“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, World
Economic Forum. “We urge governments to act decisively by adopting
long-term measures to enhance competitiveness and return the world to
a sustainable growth path.”
Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Professor of Economics, Columbia University,
USA, said: “The Global Competitiveness Index provides a window on the
long-term trends that are shaping the competitiveness of the world’s
economies. In this light, we believe it offers useful insight into the
key areas where countries must act if they are to optimize the
productivity that will determine their economic future.”