The 2015-2016 Global Competitiveness Report — which evaluates nations’ productivity and prosperity based on factors such as education, market size, and technological sophistication — ranked Myanmar 131 out of 140 countries, and last place in the “Emerging and Developing Asia” category.
The report is sponsored by World Economic Forum (WEF), a Swiss nonprofit foundation, and ranks countries based on their score in the Global Competiveness Index, which defines competiveness as “the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity.”
This year’s top ranking country, Switzerland, scored 5.76, while Myanmar earned 3.33, said the latest report issued on September 30.
Nevertheless, the report claims global competiveness is disappointing across the board. “Seven years after the global financial crisis, the world economy is evolving against the background of the ‘new normal’ of lower economic growth, lower productivity growth, and high unemployment,” its introduction reads. Growth in emerging and developing markets in particular has slowed in the recent years.
Despite its low overall ranking, Myanmar’s score is the highest since the country was first included in the report in 2013. It climbed three places and its GCI ranking rose 0.01. It dropped to last place in “Emerging and Developing Asia” because last year’s lowest, Timor-Leste, was not included at all.
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The Global Competitiveness Index evaluates economies based on twelve factors, or “pillars.” Myanmar scored lowest (134th) for “innovation and sophistication” pillars, and highest (128th) in “basic requirements” pillars, which include healthcare and education.
