Chile ranks top in the region in the latest competitiveness report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), while Haiti comes in last.
The WEF Global Competitiveness Report has been released each year since 1979, providing an “annual assessment of the drivers of productivity and long-term economic growth”, in the words of the organisation. Indicators used to create the ranking include institutions, infrastructure, information and communication technology (ICT) adoption, macroeconomic stability, health, skills, product market, labour market, the financial system, market size, business dynamism, and innovation capability.
In terms of the overall table, Singapore and the United States are the top two countries. Chile leads Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), coming in at 33 of 141 countries ranked. It is followed by Mexico (48), Uruguay (54), and Colombia (57). Brazil is ranked 71, while Venezuela (133) and Haiti (138) sit at the bottom of the pile. On average, LAC suffers due to poor institutional quality and innovation capability, according to the WEF, but there has been a 1.38% improvement in median competitiveness performance for the region.