The Philippines Maintains Standing in World Competitiveness Ranking, Improvement Needed in Infrastructure
The Philippines has maintained its ranking in the World Competitiveness Ranking of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) for the current year. However, the country continues to lag behind in the Asia-Pacific region, with a specific emphasis on the need for improvements in infrastructure.
The government has expressed confidence that the implementation of Executive Order 59, which aims to streamline the permitting process for priority infrastructure projects, will play a key role in boosting the country’s competitiveness ranking in the following year.
According to the IMD’s World Competitiveness Ranking for 2024, the Philippines holds the 52nd spot out of 67 economies, the same ranking as the previous year. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines remains in the 13th position, a placement that has not changed for five consecutive years.
IMD evaluates economies based on perceptions of executives and statistical data, focusing on criteria categorized into four factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
In terms of economic performance, the Philippines maintains its position in the 40th spot. The country has seen improvements in sub-factors such as the domestic economy, international trade, and international investment, but experienced a decline in rankings concerning employment and prices.
Government efficiency has seen a slight improvement, with the Philippines moving up to the 49th place from 52nd last year. Progress was noted in sub-factors like public finance and institutional framework, although there were setbacks in areas like tax policy, business legislation, and societal framework.
Under business efficiency, the Philippines dropped to the 43rd spot from the previous year’s 40th. The country only saw improvements in productivity and efficiency, while witnessing declines in labor market, finance, management practices, and attitudes and values.
The area of infrastructure is where the Philippines experienced the most significant drop, falling to the 61st position from 58th last year. Almost all sub-factors, including basic infrastructure, technological infrastructure, scientific infrastructure, and education, saw declines in rankings, while maintaining the same position in the health and environment sub-factor.
