Bangladesh’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index for 2017-18, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday, has improved seventh place to 99th among 137 countries surveyed.
In the previous year, the country held 106th position among 138 countries.
With Switzerland, Netherlands and Germany remaining stable on first, fourth and fifth spots respectively, the only changes in the top five apply to the United States and Singapore, which swap second and third positions.
Elsewhere in the top 10 the big winner is Hong Kong SAR, which jumps three places to sixth, edging out Sweden (7), UK (8) and Japan (9), all of which decline one place. With Finland holding stable in 10th position, the other big winner in the top 20 is Israel, which climbs eight places to 16.
India (40th) remains the most competitive country in South Asia, as most countries in the region improve their performance.
The two Himalayan countries of Bhutan (82nd, up 15) and Nepal (88th, up ten) are among the most improved countries globally while Pakistan (115th, up seven) and Bangladesh (99th, up seven) have both improved their scores across all pillars of competitiveness.
Improving ICT infrastructure and use remain among the biggest challenges for the region: in the past decade, technological readiness stagnated the most in South Asia.
For the ninth consecutive year, the report’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) finds Switzerland to be the world’s most competitive economy, narrowly ahead of the United States and Singapore.
China is the highest ranking among the BRICS group of large emerging markets, moving up one rank to 27.
The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving countries’ productivity and prosperity.