Qatar Ranks Second in Arab World in Global Competitiveness Report

Doha, September 28 (QNA) - The Global Competitiveness Report, issued yearly by the World Economic Forum (WEF), has announced that the State of Qatar has been globally ranked 25 this year and comes in second place in the Arab world, while Saudi Arabia ranked 30, Kuwait 52, and Bahrain 44. This year's report indicates that Qatar is ranked 25th globally and the second in the Arab world due to the drop-in oil and gas prices. Qatar's strength lies in its good infrastructure facilities and maintaining an efficient goods market. As for the macroeconomic environment of the country, this is one of the twelve pillars for assessing the competitive position of each country, Qatar ranked first in the Arab world and 20th globally and also comes first in the Arab world in terms of innovation and 21st place globally. The Middle East and North Africa improves its average performance this year, despite further deterioration in the macroeconomic environment in some countries. Low oil and gas prices are forcing the region to implement reforms to boost diversification, and heavy investments in digital and technological infrastructure have allowed major improvements in technological readiness. However, these have not yet led to an equally large turnaround in the region's level of innovation. The prospects for a sustained economic recovery remain at risk due to a widespread failure on the part of leaders and policy- makers to put in place reforms necessary to underpin competitiveness and bring about much-needed increases in productivity, according to data from the World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018, published today. The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) along with Qatar University, specifically the Social and Economic Research institute (SESRI) have been the local strategic partners of WEF in Qatar, where throughout 11 consecutive years, QBA worked with WEF to highlight the strengths of the local economy, especially with respect to the investment climate and opportunities in all areas. The Global Competitiveness Report presents a comprehensive picture of competitiveness in the world by collecting data in 12 core categories of competitiveness: enterprise, innovation, macroeconomic environment, health, basic education, university education and training, commodity market efficiency, labor market efficiency, capital market development, technological, market size, business progress and innovation. (QNA)