MANAMA: Saudi Arabia has emerged as one of the most competitive economies in the region, according to the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness rankings. Overall, the GCC economies moved-up in the global competitiveness report (GRC) rankings of the World Economic Forum rankings led by Qatar at 26th followed by Saudi Arabia at 27th positions.
And the United Arab Emirates confirmed its position as one of the most competitive economies in the region, moving up 6 positions to 31st place.
North Africa falls behind with Tunisia remaining the most competitive economy in 36th place, despite a drop of 4 places while Morocco at 71st and Egypt at 81st remain stable in absolute terms but lose ground to more dynamic economies.
The United States tops the overall ranking in the report 2008-09, released yesterday by the World Economic Forum. Switzerland is in second position followed by Denmark, Sweden and Singapore.
European economies continue to prevail in the top 10 with Finland, Germany and the Netherlands following suit. The United Kingdom, while remaining very competitive, has dropped by three places and out of the top 10, mainly attributable to a weakening of its financial markets.
China continues to lead the way among large developing economies, improving by four places this year and joining the top 30. All of the BRIC economies figure in the top half of the ranking, with China followed by India, Russia and Brazil. Several Asian economies including Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan perform strongly. In Latin America, Chile is the highest ranked country, followed by Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico.
A number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are in the upper half of the rankings, led by Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Tunisia, with particular improvements noted in the Gulf States since last year. In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius feature in the top half of the rankings, with several countries from the region measurably improving their competitiveness.
“The World Economic Forum has for many years played a facilitating role by providing detailed assessments of the productive potential of nations worldwide. The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-09 offers policy-makers and business leaders an important tool in the formulation of improved economic policies and institutional reforms,” said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.
