SA is Africa's top competitor
Thématique :
sud afrique
By Ethel Hazelhurst, Business Report, November 1, 2007
South Africa is the highest-ranked country in sub-Saharan Africa on the global competitiveness index released yesterday by the World Economic Forum (WEF). With only 6 percent of the region's population, it generates one-third of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to the WEF.
GDP in the region grew at an average annual rate of 4.9 percent between 2001 and last year.
But the WEF said the recent "resurgence" was "not yet reflected in improved competitiveness rankings", which had implications for the sustainability of economic performance.
Ian Marsberg, a senior economist at Absa, said: "Growth has been largely a commodity story, with oil exporters reaping great benefits." There had been some moves to manufacturing, "but it's low value added and commodity based, mostly going to Asian countries".
The WEF defines competitiveness as "the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country".
In turn, productivity "sets the sustainable level of prosperity in a country". In other words, competitiveness in the business environment spills over into the rest of the economy, which is why South Africa is a magnet for immigrants from the rest of the continent.
The WEF said: "Only South Africa and Mauritius feature in the top half of the index rankings this year, with several countries positioned at the very bottom and most not experiencing any measurable improvements in recent years."
While South Africa's broad-based economy puts it in a different league from its neighbours, in the broader global arena the country is losing ground: it has dropped to position 44 worldwide from 36 last year. Mauritius is number 60, while Mozambique, at 128, and Zimbabwe, at 129, are ahead of only Burundi and Chad.
Angola and Malawi have been dropped from the index for lack of survey data.
South Africa's demotion is partly because six new countries were included in the latest analysis. Of these, Saudi Arabia, Puerto Rico and Oman are ahead of South Africa. But another factor was that Bahrain, the Slovak Republic, Portugal, Slovenia and Lithuania overtook South Africa.
The WEF said the failure of many developing countries to grow, despite huge investment in physical capital, highlighted the importance of factors such as human capital, technological progress and macroeconomic stability.
On certain components of the overall index, including property rights and corporate ethics, South Africa is highly rated. Its scientific research institutions are assessed on a par with Hong Kong and it has a higher rate of patenting than a number of European countries, including Greece and Portugal.
Though competitiveness allows for sustained economic growth, there is not always an immediate correlation.
China is rapidly moving up the rankings in terms of GDP. Last year the World Bank placed it in fourth place with GDP of $2.7 trillion (R17.6 trillion). But it is only 34th on the WEF index, one up from last year. It was slowed by weaknesses in three areas, the WEF said: financial markets, higher education and training, and the quality of public and private institutions.
South Africa is the highest-ranked country in sub-Saharan Africa on the global competitiveness index released yesterday by the World Economic Forum (WEF). With only 6 percent of the region's population, it generates one-third of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to the WEF.
GDP in the region grew at an average annual rate of 4.9 percent between 2001 and last year.
But the WEF said the recent "resurgence" was "not yet reflected in improved competitiveness rankings", which had implications for the sustainability of economic performance.
Ian Marsberg, a senior economist at Absa, said: "Growth has been largely a commodity story, with oil exporters reaping great benefits." There had been some moves to manufacturing, "but it's low value added and commodity based, mostly going to Asian countries".
The WEF defines competitiveness as "the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country".
In turn, productivity "sets the sustainable level of prosperity in a country". In other words, competitiveness in the business environment spills over into the rest of the economy, which is why South Africa is a magnet for immigrants from the rest of the continent.
The WEF said: "Only South Africa and Mauritius feature in the top half of the index rankings this year, with several countries positioned at the very bottom and most not experiencing any measurable improvements in recent years."
While South Africa's broad-based economy puts it in a different league from its neighbours, in the broader global arena the country is losing ground: it has dropped to position 44 worldwide from 36 last year. Mauritius is number 60, while Mozambique, at 128, and Zimbabwe, at 129, are ahead of only Burundi and Chad.
Angola and Malawi have been dropped from the index for lack of survey data.
South Africa's demotion is partly because six new countries were included in the latest analysis. Of these, Saudi Arabia, Puerto Rico and Oman are ahead of South Africa. But another factor was that Bahrain, the Slovak Republic, Portugal, Slovenia and Lithuania overtook South Africa.
The WEF said the failure of many developing countries to grow, despite huge investment in physical capital, highlighted the importance of factors such as human capital, technological progress and macroeconomic stability.
On certain components of the overall index, including property rights and corporate ethics, South Africa is highly rated. Its scientific research institutions are assessed on a par with Hong Kong and it has a higher rate of patenting than a number of European countries, including Greece and Portugal.
Though competitiveness allows for sustained economic growth, there is not always an immediate correlation.
China is rapidly moving up the rankings in terms of GDP. Last year the World Bank placed it in fourth place with GDP of $2.7 trillion (R17.6 trillion). But it is only 34th on the WEF index, one up from last year. It was slowed by weaknesses in three areas, the WEF said: financial markets, higher education and training, and the quality of public and private institutions.
