Vietnam Increases Ranking in The List of Global Competition

The Global Competitiveness Report 2017 – 2018 was announced on September 26th 2017, confirming that countries are improving in terms of health, education and technology.

The latest global competition list of the World Economic Forum shows a messy picture of Asia, while Vietnam and Indonesia jumped in rank, Japan and India slumped.

Vietnam jumped to 55th place, up 5 steps compared with last year and 20 steps compared with 5 years ago. Accordingly, Vietnam has made remarkable progress in terms of technology and labor market efficiency. Trade is also a key factor that help Vietnam increasing ranking. Specifically, Vietnam is ranking 7th in terms of import ratio against GDP and 11th in export ratio against GDP.

The withdrawal of the US from the TPP may have removed some future trade opportunities of Vietnam, but the report states that “Vietnam’s growth is expected to be sustained, thanks to strong exports activities”.

Meanwhile, Indonesia ranked 36th, up from the 41st position of last year. Other Asian countries that also increased in rank are: Malaysia (23rd); China (27th) and Thailand (32nd). The Philippines also rose one step to 56th.

Japan led the opposite direction: Ranked 9th after decrease ranking in two consecutive years. The world’s third-largest economy continues to grow well in areas such as infrastructure, health and education, but is struggling with macroeconomic environment due to massive public debt.

Although leaping two years ago, India dropped one step down to the 40th position. Singapore again dropped to 3rd position, behind the United States.