India jumps up 16 places, Pakistan remains in bottom 20 economies in Global Competitiveness Index

PAKISTAN’S ranking in terms of Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2016-17 has witnessed improvement as it stood at the 122nd position in 2016-17 against the 126th position previous year 2015-16 remained among the bottom 20 in the list of 138countries, World Economic Forum (WEF) reports.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 also identifies corruption as the most problematic factor for doing business in Pakistan, followed by crime and theft, tax rates, access to finance and government instability and coups.

Although Pakistan improved its ranking by two notches, its score is still below the 2007 level, suggesting that the country has not sustained the competitiveness gains made during General retired Pervez Musharraf’s era.

This year, among 114 global competitiveness indicators, Pakistan showed improvements on 54 key indices, whereas on 50 indices the country lost its previous position. In 10 indices, the position remained the same as last year.

India ranked at 39th position in terms of GCI, Bangladesh at 106th and Sri Lanka at 71st position.

This year among 114 global competitiveness indicators, Pakistan showed improvements on 54 key indices, whereas on 50 indices the country lost its previous position. While 10 indices remained same as last year.

Pakistan at 122, ranks last amongst its South Asian neighbours, where India leads at 39 followed by Sri Lanka 71, Bhutan 97, Nepal 98 and Bangladesh at 106. South Asia continues its upward trend as competitiveness improves in most countries in the region. India has been the best performer, climbing to 39th from 55th last year. Over the past decade, the subcontinent has focused on improving overall health and primary education levels and upgrading available infrastructure, areas of particular importance given the resource-driven nature of its economy. However, the latter remains the second weakest spot in the region, just after technological readiness.