Malta has retained its ranking in the latest Global Competitiveness Report, placing 51st of 142 countries but it remains on a low rung compared to other EU countries.
The report, published by the World Economic Forum, gives Malta an overall score of 4.3 when the highest-ranked Switzerland obtained 5.7. Last year, Malta got the same score but was classified in the 50th position due to there being fewer participating countries (139).
But it only ranks in the 21st position among the 27 EU member states, beating Slovenia, Latvia, Slovak Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. Other member states that joined the EU together with Malta in 2004 obtained much higher positions. They include Estonia (33), the Czech Republic (38), Poland (41), Lithuania (44), Cyprus (47) and Hungary (48).
The competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), developed by the World Economic Forum and introduced in 2004.
It comprises 12 categories which together provide a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness landscape. The 12 “pillars of competitiveness” are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic 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.
Malta rates highly when it comes to institutions, health and primary education, higher education and training and financial market developments.
However, its ranking was pulled down by its poor performance in labour market efficiency and market size, the latter being a natural handicap.
The report’s rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and an executive opinion survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted among business organisations in every country.
Malta’s partner responsible for this project was Competitive Malta, a non-profit foundation set up in 2003 by a group of business organisations.
Switzerland is followed by Singapore and Sweden as the three most competitive countries.
The top 10 positions are dominated by northern and western European countries and include Finland (4th), Germany (6th), the Netherlands (7th), Denmark (8th) and the United Kingdom (10th). Japan remains the second-ranked Asian economy at 9th place, despite falling three places since last year.
The report notes that the United States – the biggest economy in the world — continued its decline for the third year in a row, falling one more place to fifth position.
Commenting on the results, Klaus Schwab, chairman of the WEF, said that, after a number of difficult years, a recovery from the economic crisis was emerging tentatively, although it had been very unequally distributed.
“Much of the developing world is still seeing relatively strong growth, despite some risk of overheating, while most advanced economies continue to experience sluggish recovery, persistent unemployment and financial vulnerability, with no clear horizon for improvement,” he said.
“The complexity of today’s global economic environment has made it more important than ever to recognise and encourage the qualitative as well as the quantitative aspects of growth, integrating such concepts as inclusiveness and environmental sustainability to provide a fuller picture of what is needed and what works.”