Egypt is ranked 115th in the 2016 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) Report, affiliated to the World Economic Forum, advancing one place from last year. The GCI report is an annual assessment of the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 138 countries, with the latest report released on Wednesday. "Declining openness in the global economy is harming competitiveness and making it harder for leaders to drive sustainable, inclusive growth," said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairperson of the World Economic Forum. For the eighth consecutive year, Switzerland ranks as the most competitive economy in the world, narrowly ahead of Singapore and the US. Following them is the UK which advanced three places from last year, with the latter's GCI score being based on pre-Brexit data. The drop in energy prices has heightened the urgency of advancing competitiveness agendas across the Arab world. With three energy-exporting nations in the top thirty—the United Arab Emirates at 16; Qatar at 18; and Saudi Arabia at 29—there remains a clear need for all these nations to further diversify their economies. Meanwhile, European economies continue to dominate the top 10. One of the most improved nations in sub-Saharan Africa is Rwanda, which has advanced six places to 52. It is closing in on the region's traditionally most competitive economies, Mauritius and South Africa, although both these countries register more modest improvements, climbing to 45 and 47 respectively. The report's competitiveness ranking is based on the GCI, which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2005. Defining competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories—the pillars of competitiveness—that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country's competitiveness. The 12 pillars are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.
