BUSINESS

Even Namibia is ahead of India!

By A Correspondent
October 13, 2004

India is way down in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index, ranked at number 55 in a list of 104 nations.

If it is any consolation, India moved one place up from last year's rank of 56. (Check table below)

Finland remains the most competitive economy in the world and tops the rankings for the second consecutive year in The Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005, released on Wednesday by the WEF in Geneva.

The United States is in second position, followed by Sweden, Taiwan, Denmark and Norway, consecutively.

"The Nordic countries are characterised by excellent macroeconomic management overall -- they are all running budget surpluses -- they have extremely low levels of corruption, with their firms operating in a legal environment in which there is widespread respect for contracts and the rule of law, and their private sectors are on the forefront of technological innovation," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist and Director of the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Programme, explaining why the Nordic nations have been faring superbly on the Global Competitiveness Index.

"These countries prove the point that enhanced competitiveness and boosting the capacity of economies to operate effectively in the global economy is a multifaceted challenge requiring concerted actions on a number of fronts," said Lopez-Claros.

Country

GCI 2004 rank

GCI 2004 score

GCI 2003 rank*

Finland

1

5.95

1

United States

2

5.82

2

Sweden

3

5.72

3

Taiwan

4

5.69

5

Denmark

5

5.66

4

Norway

6

5.56

9

Singapore

7

5.56

6

Switzerland

8

5.49

7

Japan

9

5.48

11

Iceland

10

5.44

8

United Kingdom

11

5.30

15

Netherlands

12

5.30

12

Germany

13

5.28

13

Australia

14

5.25

10

Canada

15

5.23

16

United Arab Emirates

16

5.21

-

Austria

17

5.20

17

New Zealand

18

5.18

14

Israel

19

5.09

20

Estonia

20

5.08

22

Hong Kong SAR

21

5.06

24

Chile

22

5.01

28

Spain

23

5.00

23

Portugal

24

4.96

25

Belgium

25

4.95

27

Luxembourg

26

4.95

21

France

27

4.92

26

Bahrain

28

4.91

-

Korea

29

4.90

18

Ireland

30

4.90

30

Malaysia

31

4.88

29

Malta

32

4.79

19

Slovenia

33

4.75

31

Thailand

34

4.58

32

Jordan

35

4.58

34

Lithuania

36

4.57

40

Greece

37

4.56

35

Cyprus

38

4.56

-

Hungary

39

4.56

33

Czech Republic

40

4.55

39

South Africa

41

4.53

42

Tunisia

42

4.51

38

Slovak Republic

43

4.43

43

Latvia

44

4.43

37

Botswana

45

4.30

36

China

46

4.29

44

Italy

47

4.27

41

Mexico

48

4.17

47

Mauritius

49

4.14

46

Costa Rica

50

4.12

51

Trinidad and Tobago

51

4.12

49

Namibia

52

4.11

52

El Salvador

53

4.10

48

Uruguay

54

4.08

50

India

55

4.07

56

Morocco

56

4.06

61

Brazil

57

4.05

54

Panama

58

4.01

59

Bulgaria

59

3.98

64

Poland

60

3.98

45

Croatia

61

3.94

53

Egypt

62

3.88

58

Romania

63

3.86

75

Colombia

64

3.84

63

Jamaica

65

3.82

67

Turkey

66

3.82

65

Peru

67

3.78

57

Ghana

68

3.78

71

Indonesia

69

3.72

72

Russian Federation

70

3.68

70

Algeria

71

3.67

74

Dominican Republic

72

3.63

62

Sri Lanka

73

3.57

68

Argentina

74

3.54

78

Gambia

75

3.52

55

Philippines

76

3.51

66

Vietnam

77

3.47

60

Kenya

78

3.45

83

Uganda

79

3.41

80

Guatemala

80

3.38

89

Bosnia and Hercegovina

81

3.38

-

Tanzania

82

3.38

69

Zambia

83

3.36

88

Macedonia, FYR

84

3.34

81

Venezuela

85

3.30

82

Ukraine

86

3.27

84

Malawi

87

3.24

76

Mali

88

3.24

99

Serbia and Montenegro

89

3.23

77

Ecuador

90

3.18

86

Pakistan

91

3.17

73

Mozambique

92

3.17

93

Nigeria

93

3.16

87

Georgia

94

3.14

-

Nicaragua

95

3.12

90

Madagascar

96

3.11

96

Honduras

97

3.10

94

Bolivia

98

3.09

85

Zimbabwe

99

3.03

97

Paraguay

100

2.99

95

Ethiopia

101

2.93

92

Bangladesh

102

2.84

98

Angola

103

2.72

100

Chad

104

2.50

101

The report also paints a positive picture of United Kingdom's business environment and the underlying factors necessary for sustained economic growth.

Rising four places this year to eleventh place, just ahead of Germany (13th) and significantly ahead of France (27th), the report shows that Britain is doing particularly well in promoting a good business environment. Noteworthy are a sharply improved macroeconomic outlook, supported by continued gains in the quality of public sector institutions underpinning the drive for improved competitiveness.

The rankings are drawn from the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive survey conducted by the WEF, which this year polled over 8,700 business leaders in 104 economies worldwide.

The survey questionnaire is designed to capture a broad range of factors affecting an economy's business environment that are key determinants of sustained economic growth.

Particular attention is placed on elements of the macroeconomic environment, the quality of public institutions which underpin the development process, and the level of technological readiness and innovation.

The WEF's Growth Competitiveness Index has been a useful tool in thinking about key macroeconomic and institutional elements, critical to the growth process.

The present rankings continue to provide policy-makers, businesses and organizations of civil society with valuable insights into areas where further progress is called for, in order to improve the environment for private sector economic activity, and generate sustainable growth.

"The Global Competitiveness Report -- now in its 25th year of publication -- has become a primary source of information on the strengths and weaknesses of over 100 economies, accounting for the bulk of global GNP. It is an invaluable reference guide for business leaders and policy-makers, as they endeavour to cooperate to create an environment which is more supportive of private sector economic activity," said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Co-Directors of The Global Competitiveness Report are Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence Professor at Harvard Business School, Harvard University.

Highlights

The World Economic Forum is the foremost global community of business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society committed to improving the state of the world.

Incorporated as a foundation, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The Forum has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

A Correspondent

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