Guyana has marginally improved its ranking on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index, rising from a ranking of 109 out of 144 countries in last year’s report to 102 out of 148 countries in the current report.
The report, entitled ‘Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014’ is a compiled assessment of the competitiveness landscape of 148 countries, providing insight with regards to the drivers of their economies, productivity and prosperity. According to the World Economic Forum, the report remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide.
The report looks at institutions, infrastructure, macro-economic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.
Barbados leads the Caribbean with a ranking of 47. T&T is ranked at 92 compared to 84 last year.
However, a report in today’s Trinidad Guardian says that while Port-of-Spain’s ranking dropped, the WEF had reclassified T&T as an innovation-driven economy. According to a statement from Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, this means that T&T is classified even higher than Chile, Mexico and Brazil.
“With this new categorisation, T&T has become a benchmark for the Caribbean and Latin America,” the statement explained. T&T is the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean in this innovation-driven category which ranks “the best and most productive countries in the world.” Jamaica ranked 94.
Six European countries were in the top ten—Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Also in the top ten were Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Switzerland has topped the rankings for the fifth consecutive year.
