MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines plummeted 9 notches to 50th spot out of 63 economies in this year’s World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) rankings of the International Institute of Management Development (IMD).
This is the country’s largest year-on-year decline over the last decade and the sharpest drop among regional peers. Over the last 5 years, the Philippines’ ranking fluctuated in the low 40s, placing 41st in 2015 and 42nd in 2014 and 2016.
The WCY ranks the competitiveness of countries based on 4 pillars – economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure. The Philippines dropped in rank across all factors in the latest rankings.
The biggest fall was in economic performance, which plunged to 50th from last year’s 26th spot.
Infrastructure continued its losing streak, now at 60th from 54th.
Business efficiency (38th) and government efficiency (44th) dropped 10 and 7 notches, respectively.
The United States has returned to the top spot this year, toppling Hong Kong. Singapore, the Netherlands, and Switzerland round up the top 5.
Meanwhile, it’s a mixed bag across Asia. China (13th), Japan (25th), South Korea (27th), Malaysia (22nd), and India (44th) saw improvements.
Taiwan (17th from 14th), Thailand (30th from 27th), and Indonesia (43rd from 42nd) slipped down the charts.
– Rappler.com