Portugal increases six places in the list of the most competitive economies
The list is made by IMD World Competitiveness Centre, which increased Portugal's place in the ranking because of the improvement in the economic growth and in the business and governmental efficiency.
Portugal increased six places on the index IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, meaning it is now the 33rd most competitive economy in the world, among 63 countries. The index — which is assembled annually by the institution headed by Arturo Bris — places Portugal as one of the three economies that climbed up the ranking, along with the French and Italian economies.
The improvement is justified by the “growth in economic activities paired with a positive turn in perceptions about institutional efficiency including greater governmental transparency”. Portugal went up nine places in terms of economic performance, six in governmental efficiency, thirteen in business efficiency and one in infrastructures.
Even so, IMD leaves Portugal some challenges: making a structural reduction of public deficit in order to reduce debt and acquire a permanent surplus; assuring the stability of the banking system and the capital market; pausing the reforms foreseen for the labor market, which, according to IMD, will decrease the attractiveness of young and qualified labor-force; reducing bureaucracy; and improving the efficiency of the judicial system.
The United States of America stand on the top of the table, increasing three places, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore, Netherlands and Switzerland. The top 10 in completed by Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Sweden and Canada.
IMD World Competitiveness Centre rating, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2018, assesses around 260 indicators in 63 countries. More than half of those correspond to data concerning employment and businesses, and the remaining indicators concern studies and inquiries that analyse subjects like corruption, environmental issues and the quality of life in each country.
