The Philippines dropped nine places in the 2018 World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) ranking published by the International Institute of Management Development (IMD).
The Philippines ranked 50th in the list this year, a drop from last year’s rank of 41.
This was described as the biggest drop in the Southeast Asian region and the sharpest plummet in the country’s history in the list. The Philippine’s average rank in the last four years is 41.5.
The WCY ranks the competitiveness of 63 countries based on four indicators – economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
The Philippines’ ranking dropped on all four indicators.
Economic performance plunged from last year’s number 26 to number 50 this year. The massive drop in the country’s economic ranking was attributed to the current account deficit or the difference between imports and exports, the depreciation of the Philippine peso, and the quickening inflation.
In terms of infrastructure, which dropped to number 60 from number 54 last year, the report observed the need to invest on social infrastructure and not only on physical infrastructure.
Business efficiency also dropped from number 28 to 38. The report noted that the country was less competitive in terms of labor, management practices, and attitudes and values.
Government efficiency fell from number 37 to number 44 due to a decline in the public finance, business legislation, and societal framework sub-indicators.
Meanwhile, the USA redeemed the number 1 spot, replacing Hong Kong which placed second this year. Singapore, Netherlands, and Switzerland were also part of the top 5.
