Image Credit to World Economic Forum

A. Philippine Performance for the Past Five Years

The country experienced one of the biggest drops from 56/140 in 2018 (60.0 pctl) to 64/141 in 2019 (54.6 pctl). Almost all pillars dipped in its ranks despite the Philippines maintaining its overall score of 62/100.

Decline in the pillars “technological readiness” (-14.6 pctl) and “macroeconomic environment” (-8.3 pctl) pulled down our rank, driven by the slow internet connection of the country and the effects of the protracted US-China trade war on GDP growth, respectively.

Nonetheless, there were double-digit improvements in “higher education and training” (+20.2 pctl) and “institutions” (+10.4 pctl). The passage of the Free Tuition Law in tertiary education and attainment of a high Open Budget Index score led to these improvements.

Moving forward, the government will address issues on the inadequate supply of infrastructure, delays in delivery of public services (e.g. traffic congestion), and high cost of starting a business.

B. Philippine vs. ASEAN Performance (Current vs. Past Year)

* The closer to 100, the better the score.

** 141 countries were measured.

*** 140 countries were measured

Except for Singapore, the rest of the ASEAN declined in the GCI ranking for 2019. The biggest loser was Indonesia, falling behind by -9.44 notches.

The country fell further from being the 5^th most competitive ASEAN economy to 6^th, overtaken by Brunei.