WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index 2018: US tops; India ranked 58th

The World Economic Forum (WEF) on October 16, 2018 released the Global Competitiveness Report 2018. The report publishes the Global Competitiveness Index, ranking 140 countries on the basis of 98 indicators organised into 12 pillars.

These 12 pillars are Institutions; Infrastructure; ICT adoption; Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Labour market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamism; and Innovation capability.

Key Highlights

• The report states that the global economy is projected to grow nearly 4 percent in 2018 and 2019.

• On the list of 140 economies, the United States topped the list with a score of 85.6, followed by Singapore and Germany at the second and the third positions respectively.

• Other countries in the top 10 include Switzerland (4th), Japan (5th), Netherlands (6th), Hong Kong (7th), United Kingdom (8th), Sweden (9th) and Denmark (10th).

• In Europe, Sweden is ranked the highest among the Nordic economies at 9th position, while France (17th) is among the top 20. Countries such as Germany and Switzerland set the global standards for innovation.

• Chile (33rd) leads the Latin America and the Caribbean region by a wide margin, ahead of Mexico (46th) and Uruguay (53rd). Insecurity and weak institutions are two of the biggest challenges for most countries in the region.

• Competitiveness performance in the Middle East and North Africa remains diverse, with Israel (20th) and the United Arab Emirates (27th), leading the way in their respective regions.

• 17of the 34 sub-Saharan African economies are among the bottom 20. Mauritius (49th) leads the region, ahead of South Africa and nearly 91 places ahead of Chad (140th).

• India remained the "South Asia's main driving force" with 58th rank.

• Among the BRICS economies, China topped the list at 28th place with a score of 72.6, followed by Russia, India, South Africa and Brazil respectively.

Global Competitiveness Index 4.0

The 2018 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report introduced the new Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 (GCI 4.0). The new index sheds light on an emerging set of drivers of productivity and long-term growth in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The GCI 4.0 provides novel insights on four factors that will grow in significance as the Fourth Industrial Revolution gathers pace. These four factors are human capital, innovation, resilience and agility.

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