Pakistan has been ranked at 129 out of the 144 economies around the world in the World Economic Forum''s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2014 - 2015, released on September 3 (Wednesday) 2014 in Geneva. "Securing 129th rank among 144 Economies around the world, Pakistan improves 4 ranks as compared to 2013," says a statement/report of the Forum issued here Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Established in 2003, Mishal has been engaged with key stakeholders in Pakistan to improve the state of competitiveness and media through good governance initiatives and by creating appreciation for data journalism. The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity, innovation and prosperity.
"Although Pakistan has shown slight improvements on the Global Competitiveness Index, it is still passing through a difficult time", said Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum. "Pakistan is facing serious challenges on the economic management side that "Pakistan needs to make competitiveness as part of its growth and stabilisation strategy for sustainable development across all factors of economy," Jahangir said.
This year report consists of three main indexes and 12 pillars. Among 144 economies, Pakistan ranked in basic requirements at 142, in efficiency enhancers at 104 and in innovation and sophistication factors ranked at 78. All the 12 pillars included into the report ranks Pakistan as follows: Institutions are ranked at 123, infrastructure at 121, macroeconomic environment at 145, health and primary education at 128, higher education and training at 129, goods market efficiency at 103, labour market efficiency at 138, financial market development at 67, technological readiness at 118, market size at 30, business sophistication at 85 and innovation at 77.
After two consecutive years of steep decline, Pakistan (129th) remains essentially stable since last year. The country obtains low marks in the most critical and basic areas of competitiveness. Thanks to a lower inflation rate and a smaller budget deficit, the country''s macroeconomic situation improves slightly but nevertheless remains dismissal (137th).