DUSHANBE, September 3, 2014, Asia-Plus – The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked Tajikistan 91st among 144 economies in terms of competitiveness.

Released on September 2, the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015  assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.  The Report series remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide.

Tajikistan was not included in the last edition (the  Global Competitiveness Report 2013- 2014 ), which assessed 148 economies.

The  Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015  ranks Kazakhstan 50th and Kyrgyzstan 108th.

The top of the rankings continues to be dominated by highly advanced Western economies and several Asian tigers.  For the sixth consecutive year Switzerland leads the top 10, and again this year Singapore ranks as the second-most competitive economy in the world. Overall, the rankings at the top have remained rather stable, although it is worth noting the significant progress made by the United States, which climbs to 3rd place this year, and Japan, which rises three ranks to 6th position.

The Russian Federation is placed at 53rd position this year with some improvements related to the efficiency of goods markets (in particular domestic competition), ICT use, and business sophistication— although this arguably reflects some positive developments that took place before the Ukraine conflict started.

This year’s  Report  provides an overview of the competitiveness performance of 144 economies, and thus continues to be the most comprehensive assessment of its kind globally.  It contains a detailed profile for each of the economies included in the study, as well as an extensive section of data tables with global rankings covering over 100 indicators.  This  Report  is one of the flagship publications within the Forum’s Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network, which produces a number of related research studies aimed at supporting countries in their transformation efforts and raising awareness about the need to adopt holistic and integrated frameworks for understanding complex phenomena such as competitiveness or global risks.

The Global Competitiveness Index has been used as an important tool by policymakers of many countries over the years. Since its first publication in 2005, the Index has become widely recognized as one of the key assessments of global competitiveness as defined by the World Economic Forum.  The Index integrates the macroeconomic and the micro/business aspects of competitiveness into a single index.

The report assesses the ability of countries to provide high levels of prosperity to their citizens.  This in turn depends on how productively a country uses available resources.  Therefore, the Global Competitiveness Index measures the set of institutions, policies, and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity