Singapore has overtaken the US to become the world’s most competitive country, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report 2019 put the US at number two in the ranking, followed by Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The WEF said better performers “appear to be benefitting from global trade tensions through trade diversion”, including Singapore and Vietnam, which is the most improved country in 2019.
Asia-Pacific is the most competitive region in the world, followed by Europe and North America.
The ranking of 141 economies is based on 103 indicators including institutions, infrastructure, ICT adoption, macroeconomic stability, skills, business dynamism and innovation capability.
The WEF said growth across the world was being held back and pointed to a “widening competitiveness gap”.
“The world is at a social, environmental and economic tipping point,” said the WEF. “Subdued growth, rising inequalities and accelerating climate change provide the context for a backlash against capitalism, globalization, technology, and elites.
“There is gridlock in the international governance system and escalating trade and geopolitical tensions are fuelling uncertainty. This holds back investment and increases the risk of supply shocks: disruptions to global supply chains, sudden price spikes or interruptions in the availability of key resources.”
It added: “Economic growth does not happen in a vacuum. Some basic building blocks are required to jumpstart the development process, and more are needed to sustain it. In the current volatile geopolitical context, and with a likely downturn ahead, building economic resilience through improved competitiveness is crucial, especially for low-income countries.”
Top 10 most competitive countries:
1. Singapore
2. US
3. Hong Kong
4. Netherlands
5. Switzerland
6. Japan
7. Germany
8. Sweden
9. UK
10. Denmark
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