Ghana places 114th in Global Competitiveness

Ghana dropped nine places to 114 out of 148 countries in the latest Global Competitiveness Report.

The decline in the country’s performance is as a result of deterioration in its macroeconomic indicators.

The report however said Ghana seems to be improving its public institutions placing 70th while government efficiency was ranked 57th.

Some aspects of its infrastructure particularly the state of the ports, as well as the financial and goods markets are relatively well developed.

But the report said the country must do a lot more to develop and deploy talent. It said educational standards continue to trail international standards at all levels, while labor markets are characterized by inefficiencies.

The report said Ghana is not sufficiently harnessing new technologies.

The country was not part of the top ten most competitive countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Mauritius was the best ranked African country at 45th position followed by South Africa which was ranked 53rd.

The 2013 report named in order of highest rankings in the region Mauritius, South Africa, Rwanda, Botswana, Seychelles, Namibia, Zambia, Kenya, Gabon and Senegal.

The Global Competitiveness Index measures the set of institutions, policies, and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity

Overall, Switzerland is the most competitive country in the world while Singapore, Finland, Germany and the United States placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively.