PH global competitiveness ticks up

The Philippines has advanced one spot to 51st out of 69 economies in the 2025 edition of the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), an improvement from its 52nd place among 67 economies in 2024.

- BY DEXTER BARRO II

Despite the marginal gain amid geopolitical uncertainties, the country's standing remains comparatively low within the Asia-Pacific and ASEAN regions, ranking 13th out of 14 Asia-Pacific economies and 5th among the five ASEAN countries included.

The 2025 WCY, published by the International Institute of Management Development (IMD) with the Asian Institute of Management Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness (AIM RSN PCC) as its local partner, assesses economies using 262 criteria across four key pillars: Economic Performance, Government Efficiency, Business Efficiency, and Infrastructure. Of these indicators, 170 are based on hard statistical data, while the remaining 92 are derived from an Executive Opinion Survey of midand upper-level managers.

This year's edition welcomed Kenya, Namibia, and Oman, expanding the total to 69 economies.