Malta ranks 36th (out of 140 countries) in World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index
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The US scored 85.6 out of 100 to top the index, coming in the top three for seven of the 12 pillars. Its entrepreneurial culture saw it score highly in the business dynamism pillar. It also scored highly for its labour market and financial system.
The World Economic Forum’s annual study on the global economy finds a competitiveness landscape radically altered by the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Under the new framework for competitiveness, the U.S. economy is the closest to the “competitiveness frontier”, followed by Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Japan.
The Global Competitiveness Report’s new methodology also offers insights into economies’ readiness for the future, social capital, endowment of disruptive businesses and debt concerns, among other indicator.
But there were several areas which showed it still has more to do. It notably drops behind other advanced economies in the health pillar, with a life expectancy of 67.7 years, putting it in 46th place. And it was far from the frontier for checks and balances (40th place), judicial independence (15th) and corruption (16th).
The top 11 countries all score above 80 points for competitiveness. Second-placed Singapore (83.5) is defined by its high score for openness and it leads the way for infrastructure, with a near-perfect score of 95.7 for its world-beating transport system.
Germany, in third place, is the highest placed European economy for competitiveness, with particular strength in innovation capability (first place, with 88), business dynamism (82, second behind the US) and health (94).
A key message of the Global Competitive Index 4.0 is that there are no winners and losers – but rather, in the face of new technological challenges, countries can learn from each other.
“Competitiveness is neither a competition nor a zero-sum game – all countries can become more prosperous,” said Saadia Zahihi, Member of the Managing Board and Head of the Centre for New Economy and Society.
“With opportunities for economic leapfrogging, diffusion of innovative ideas across borders and new forms of value creation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution can level the playing field for all economies. But technology is not a silver bullet on its own. Countries must invest in people and institutions to deliver on the promise of technology.”
