The Philippines ranked 56th out of 140 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2018, and the fifth most competitive economy in Southeast Asia based on WEF’s partner Makati Business Club (MBC) media release on October 16, Tuesday.
Within the region, the Philippines was behind neighbors Singapore (second), Malaysia (25th), Thailand (38th) and Indonesia (45th), but ahead of Brunei Darussalam (62nd), Vietnam (77th), Cambodia (110th) and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (112th).
Leading the pack is the USA while the African country Chad settled at 140th place.
The report considered 12 factors in determining the rankings: institutions, infrastructure, information and communication technology adoption, macroeconomic stability, health, education and skills, product market, labor market, financial system, market size, business dynamism, and innovation capability.
Of the 12 pillars, the Philippines shows formidable performance in market size (32nd), labor market (36th), financial system (39th), and business dynamism (39th).
Business dynamism considers the time to start a business, the cost, and insolvency rates of business.
Meanwhile, the country shows weak performance in institutions (101st), health (101st) and infrastructure (92nd).
Philippines ranked poorly in institutions category due to terrorism incidence, homicide rate, organized crime, and reliability of police services.
In infrastructure, the Philippines is weak in terms of road connectivity, exposure to unsafe drinking water, efficiency of train services, and electrification rate.
