In this year’s ranking of countries in terms of competitiveness, Switzerland is the best, up from third place a year ago, according to the Swiss institute IMD. Sweden is in second place, Denmark is third. On the contrary, Singapore, which was the first in the last two years, is only the fifth this year. The Czech Republic, which is in 34th place this year, also moved down by one place.
This year, Singapore has made up for the economic consequences of the pandemic, job losses, and deteriorating productivity. So far, smaller economies with sufficiently diversified economic activity and efficient functioning of public services are best able to cope with the pandemic period in terms of global competitiveness comparisons, the IMD states.
This year, the Czech Republic outperformed Japan’s immediate competitors in the ranking, which thus improved last year’s decline in the ranking of competition caused by its long-term economic stagnation.
“Public sector efficiency indicators stagnated last year. The fall by one place in this year’s competitiveness ranking is due to the loss of business efficiency due to the pandemic and a sharper decline in economic indicators,” said Kryštof Kruliš, chairman of the Czech Consumer Forum. The Consumer Forum on the ranking cooperates on behalf of the Czech Republic.
“According to a questionnaire survey, Czech managers consider a skilled workforce to be the biggest advantage of our economy and, in the meantime, cost competitiveness. This year they also rated the effectiveness of industrial relations and the level of education relatively well.
Public sector skills and legal environment are among the least common stated advantages of our economy, “adds Kruliš.
The IMD has been compiling a ranking since 1989, based on hundreds of criteria. Key benchmarks include economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.