Insight Report

The Global
Competitiveness Report
20142015
Highlights

The Global Competitiveness Index 20142015 Rankings

Covering 144 economies, the Global Competitiveness Index 20142015 measures
national competitivenessdefined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that
determine the level of productivity.
Economy

Score1 Prev. 2 Trend3

Economy

Score1 Prev. 2 Trend3

49

Italy

4.42

5.65

50

Kazakhstan

United States

5.54

51

Finland

5.50

Germany

5.49

Japan

5.47

Hong Kong SAR

Economy

Score1 Prev. 2 Trend3

49

97

Albania

3.84

95

4.42

50

98

Mongolia

3.83

107

Costa Rica

4.42

54

99

Nicaragua

3.82

99

52

Philippines

4.40

59

100

Honduras

3.82

111

53

Russian Federation

4.37

64

101

Dominican Republic

3.82

105

54

Bulgaria

4.37

57

102

Nepal

3.81

117

5.46

55

Barbados

4.36

47

103

Bhutan

3.80

109

Netherlands

5.45

56

South Africa

4.35

53

104

Argentina

3.79

104

United Kingdom

5.41

10

57

Brazil

4.34

56

105

Bolivia

3.77

98

10

Sweden

5.41

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

Cte 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

Switzerland

5.70

Singapore

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

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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 Switzerlands 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

Tax regulations
Labor regulations

Red tape

Gulf Cooperation Council

Nigeria

United States

Other

Labor regulations

Other

Infrastructure

90100%

Most

8090%

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.

7080%
6070%

Tax rates

4050%

Workforce ethics

Red tape

3040%

Tax regulations

2030%
Policy
instability

Labor regulations

Corruption

Access to finance

Access to finance

Red tape

Access to finance

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.

India

Africas 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
competitivenessinstitutions,
infrastructure, health and primary
educationneed to be prioritized.

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.

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

Health & primary education

State of public health, quality and quantity of
basic education

Innovation
BASIC REQUIREM
EN
TS

Capacity for, and commitment

to technological innovation

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.

Business sophistication

Health
Primary education

Higher education & training

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

Efficiency and sophistication of

business processes in the country
RS

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 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.

Public institutions
Private institutions

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 countrys
competitiveness weaknesses
and reviving the economy,
which is currently growing at
half the rate of 2010.

Nigeria

competitive

010%

The competitiveness dynamics in the

Southeast Asia region are truly remarkable. Behind Singapore (2nd), the regions
five largest countries (ASEAN-5), Malaysia
(20th), Thailand (31st), Indonesia (34th),
the Philippines (52th)the most improved
country since 2010and Vietnam (68th),
have all progressed in the rankings.
This contrasts starkly with the weak
performance of most South Asian nations.

MAURITANIA

Least

1020%

Red tape

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.

There are large regional variations

in competitiveness in sub-Saharan
Africaranging 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

5060%

Inadequately
educated
workforce

Sub-Saharan Africa

Global Competitiveness
Index Percentile Rank

Tax rates

Infrastructure

Competitiveness is defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that

determine a countrys level of productivity. The level of productivity, in turn,
sets the level of prosperity that can be reached by an economy.

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 Forums Executive Opinion Survey 2014 .
ASEAN

About the Global Competitiveness Index

Europe

Switzerland

INNOVATION
SOPHISTICAT AND
ION

Key Findings

Regional Rankings

Market size

Advanced Economies
6

GCI score

5
4

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

12
28

AVG.
82

85

91

Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan

31

34

52

68

108

71

73

AVG.
93

95

98

102 103 109

Sub-Saharan Africa

7
6

16

40

44

46

33
64

72

79

83

AVG.
87
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

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

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Factors that drive the intensity of domestic and

foreign competition, and demand conditions

Size of the domestic and export markets

Competition
Quality of demand conditions

Financial market development

Labour market efficiency

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CE

5
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AN

24

113 119
134 136

Latin America and the Caribbean

H
E F FIC IE N C Y E N

Adoption of the technologies by

individuals and businesses.
Technological adoption
ICT use

Efficiency, stability and trustworthiness of

the financial and banking system
Efficiency
Trustworthiness and confidence

Labour market efficiency and flexibility, meritocracy and gender parity in the workplace
Flexibility
Efficient use of talent

Competitiveness Report Series

Since 1979, through its
research on competitiveness
and associated publications
and outreach work, the
Global Competitiveness and
Benchmarking Network
has provided governments,
policy-makers, the business
community and academia
with invaluable insights into
the policies, institutions and
factors determining national
competitiveness. Its research
raises awareness and provides
a platform for discussing
these issues.

The Global Information Technology Report

This report provides a comprehensive assessment of networked
readinesshow prepared an economy is to apply the benefits of ICT
to promote economic growth and well-being.

The Global Enabling Trade Report

This report assesses the quality of policies, infrastructure and services
facilitating the free flow of goods over borders and to their destinations.
It helps economies integrate global value chains and companies into
their investment decisions. It informs policy dialogue and provides
a tool to monitor progress on certain aspects of global trade.

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report

This report assesses economies based on the policies they are
implementing to develop the travel and tourism sector. It explores
how the travel and tourism industry has the potential to boost economic
resilience and job creation, and examines a number of factors that
continue to hinder its development.

Acknowledgements
The World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network is pleased to
acknowledge and thank its network of valued Partner Institutes, without which the realization of The Global
Competitiveness Report 20142015 would not have been possible. Partner Institutes typically consist
of leading research or academic institutes, business organizations, national competitiveness councils or
recognized professional entities, committed to improving the competitiveness of their economy. By being
responsible for the administration of the Executive Opinion Survey in their countries, the Partner Institutes
provide the Forum with a representative sample of data, which allows the research to be carried out.

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gcp@weforum.org

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About the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is an international institution committed to
improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation.
It engages political, business, academic and other leaders of society
in collaborative efforts to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Together with other stakeholders, it works to define challenges, solutions
and actions, always in the spirit of global citizenship. It was established
in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva,
Switzerland. It is independent and impartial, and is not tied to any special
interests. It works in close cooperation with all major
international organizations.