Skip to main content

Ghana ranked 111th in global competitiveness index

Ghana has been ranked 111th in this year’s Global Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Ghana ranked 103rd last year.

According to the World Economic Forum, Ghana jumps to 111th this year largely as a result of slight improvements in its macroeconomic indicators, a reversal of last year’s trend; but adds fiscal vulnerabilities still persist.

Government’s deficit stood at 10.8 percent of GDP in 2013, more than twice of that of two years ago; its debt remains over 60 percent and inflation is over 15 percent.

On the country’s strength, it says public institutions are characterized by relatively high government efficiency and strong property rights.

Though it adds that the country’s financial and goods markets are relatively well developed, it believes that Ghana must do much more to develop and deploy talent in the country.

According to WEF, Ghana’s education levels continue to trail international standards at all levels, with labor markets characterized by inefficiencies.

It adds that Ghana is not sufficiently harnessing new technologies for productivity enhancement with ICT adoption rates continuously at very low levels.

It expresses concern about the country’s security situation, which ranked 111th.

The Global Competitiveness Report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.

Nigeria ranked 127th, Ivory Coast 115th while South Africa placed 56th.

Switzerland tops the chart, followed by Singapore, the USA, Finland and Germany.

Other countries in the top ten ranking are Japan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK and Sweden.

The report series remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide. The Global Competitiveness Report’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2004.

Defining competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country , GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness.

The 12 pillars are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.


Credit:citifmonline

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Vodafone sells 45% shares in Verizon for US$130 billion

Vodafone has sold its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to US telecoms group Verizon Communications in one of the biggest deals in corporate history. The US$130 billion (£84bn) deal was announced by Vodafone after the close of trading on the London Stock Exchange. The company will return £54 billion to its shareholders, of which £22 billionn will go to shareholders in the UK. Vodafone will also invest money in its business, with funds earmarked for high speed mobile phone networks. It said that by 2017 its main five European markets would have almost complete 4G coverage. Possibly it would be wrong to carp and wring hands that Vodafone won't be paying a penny of tax to the British taxman” Vodafone group chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said: "The transaction will position Vodafone strongly to pursue our leadership strategy in mobile and unified communication services for consumers and enterprises, both in our developed markets and across our emerging markets businesses." The...

Shortage of weighing cards hit major hospitals in Accra

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong- Daily Express There is scarcity of Child Health Records Book (weighing cards), in some major public hospitals in the capital, information reaching the Daily Express indicates. Checks by this paper revealed that while some of the hospitals have being encountering the shortage for about a year now, others started experiencing it six months ago. In place of the Child Health Record Book (weighing card), the nursing mothers are given a single card on which information of children are recorded on it. Those hospitals identified are the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle Bu Polyclinic, Kaneshie Polyclinic, Adabraka Polyclinic and the Ridge Hospital. At the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the nursing mothers are given yellow cards in place of the weighing cards. The Public Relations Secretariat at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital said such information has not come to their notice and for that matter they cannot comment on it. “We do not have some ...

Barbering Salons, bridging the unemployment gap in Ghana

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong Barbering business in Ghana is money making venture, depending on the location of the shop. Various barbering shops scattered across the country charges according to the location of the shop. The nature and sustainability of every barbering shop depends on the location of the shop. The location will determine how much one can charge a customer for barbering his or her hair. Checks indicate that some barbering shops located at Spintex, East Legon and Osu Oxford street charges between GHc15.00 and GHc20.00 per hair cut. At South La Estate, it will cost a customer to pay GHc4.00 for hair cut, while one will have to pay GHc3.00 to barber his or her hair at a place like Nima, Maamobi and Mallam Gbawe. Royal Vulture Executive Barbering Salon is one of the biggest barbering salons one can locate within Accra. One is its shops is located at Madina, near Taxi rank while one is located at Accra New Town, near the Post Office. Customers at Madina pay GHc7.00 ...