Both Kazakhstan and Russia have lost ground in this year’s comparison of 60 leading national economies compiled by the IMD World Competitiveness Centre.
While Kazakhstan has dropped from 32nd to 34th position, Russia’s fall from 28th to 45th is all the more striking as it follows five years of upward movement. Russia also fared the worst among its fellow BRICS member states; although it remains ahead of Brazil (down from 54th to 56th) and South Africa (down from 52nd to 53rd), it trails India which held firm in 44th place, and China, which rose from 23rd to 22nd.
The US retained first place with Hong Kong moving up to second place (ousting Switzerland that dropped back to 4th) while Singapore stayed in third place. The two fastest risers were Qatar (up to 13th from 19th) and, surprisingly, Greece, which jumped from 57th to 50th. The biggest loser, on the other hand, was Ukraine, which fell from 49th to 60th.
Kazakhstan and Russia drop down IMD competitive rankings
Source: Interfax