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UAE ranks high in global competitiveness report

Dubai, September 7, 2011

The UAE has been named among the top 10 countries in over 20 global competitiveness indicators in the 'Global Competitiveness Report 2011/2012' issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The WEF report has ranked the UAE 27th globally for competitiveness and classified it as an innovation-driven economy. It is the only Arab country to be classified in this category for three years consecutively, the report added.

The others in this stage of economic development include Germany, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the US, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Singapore, the report said.

In its comments, WEF said this is the highest stage of economic development that a country can achieve. This classification is based on factors that promote innovation in economic development, it added.

According to the report, the UAE has also scored advanced positions among the 142 countries that the report has covered.

The emirates ranked third globally in business costs of crime and violence; 4th globally in quality of air infrastructure; 5th globally in wastefulness of government spending; 5th globally in government procurement of advanced tech products;  5th globally in flexibility of wage determination; 6th globally in quality of port infrastructure; 7th globally in quality of roads infrastructure and 7th globally in the burden of customs procedures.

The UAE also scored 10th globally in buyer sophistication sub-indicator, the report added.

The Global Competitiveness Report, published annually by the World Economic Forum, ranks countries along key pillars of competitiveness.

This year 142 countries are ranked along 12 key pillars (comprised of110 indicators), namely: Institutions; Infrastructure; Macroeconomic environment; Health and primary education; Higher education and training; Goods and market efficiency; Labor market efficiency; Financial market development; Technological readiness; Market size; Business sophistication  and innovation.

The report methodology classifies countries according to three main stages economic development, with the following transitional stages between them:

*Stage 1: Factor-driven,  which includes a number of developing economies such as Nigeria, Chad, India and Vietnam;
*Transition from Stage 1 to Stage 2:Most Arab countries fall in the transitional phase between Stage 1 and Stage 2,  including Algeria, Saudi Arab Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, as well countries such as Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Angola;
*Stage 2: Efficiency-driven includes countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, Colombia, Jordan;
*Transition from Stage 2 to Stage 3: includes several Eastern European countries such as Poland, Hungary, Turkey, as well as the Arab countries of Oman and Lebanon.
*Stage 3: Innovation-driven is the highest stage of economic development; and economies in this category depend on innovation for their economic development. Countries in this group include UAE which has been ranked in this category for the third year in a row and countries such as Germany, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the US, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

Commenting on the report, Abdullah Lootah, secretary general of the Emirates Competitiveness Council, said the UAE continues its drive to build the country as a world-leading destination for business and foreign investment.

'The effort includes strengthening the legal framework, and providing excellent infrastructure,' he noted.

Lootah said the council will closely review the findings of the report, and engage the participation of public and private sectors in interactive sessions to identify ways to improve performance in key areas of importance to the country.

He underscored the need for co-ordination between federal and local authorities to provide accurate statistics to ensure that UAE performance is properly captured and communicated to international ranking institutions, such as Unesco, the International Monetary Fund, and UNDP, United Nations and others.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: UAE | economy | WEF | growth | Competitiveness | arab | Report | High | Ranking |

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