Malta drops to 51 in global competitiveness

Malta has dropped from the rank of 50 to 51 in the World Competitiveness report issued by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance. The 2011-2012 report covers the economies from 142 different countries and deals with twelve so called ‘pillars of competitiveness’.

As in previous years, this year’s top 10 remain dominated by a number of European countries. Switzerland retains the top place, with Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands confirming their place among the most competitive economies. Singapore continues its upward trend to become the second-most competitive economy in the world, overtaking Sweden, while the United Kingdom returns to the top 10 as it recovers from the crisis.

Respondents have given mixed reactions to the surveys in the collection of data. In the tables provided, there are several areas of interest. Respondents in Malta seem to have fewer concerns about organised crime and reporting standards when it comes to an area regarding Institutions. There were no negative comments regarding foreign exchange and public health. However, there were serious worries about the quality of the country’s road network and the quality of electrical supply. In primary education the rank of this particular factor is 86 compared to our overall ranking of 51 over 142 countries.

In labour market efficiency, Malta ranks a poor 96th and in the ratio of women in the labour force, our ranking is among the worst in the world at 125th. In the financial market development sector, Malta features positively with a comparative raking of 12th in the world in the soundness of banks and access to bank loans.

On Innovation, Malta needs to invest more on Research and development and on the quality and availability of engineers and engineering structures. According to this report, the most problematic factor for doing business in Malta is inefficient government bureaucracy. Inflation, corruption and policy instability also feature amongst the list of the most problematic problems represented in his report.

The powers that be should study this report carefully and address our failings, most of which can be resolved to the benefit of the whole population.