Competitiveness: Morocco gains 5 places in the World ranking

In a report published by the World Economic Forum, Morocco was ranked in the 72^nd place in terms of competitiveness. It did significantly better than last year where it was 77^th, in an area affected by a profound geopolitical instability.

The Global Competitiveness Report assessed the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. The report series remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide.

According to the report, the decrease in budget deficit between 2012 and 2013 and improvements in primary education and innovation have supported the country’s rise in the rankings. It also noted that many aspects of the kingdom’s institutions have improved, which is a reflection of the “relative social and political stability and efforts made over recent years to modernize its business environment and particularly its administrative aspects.”

The report then went on highlighting some of Morocco’s strengths citing particularly physical security (39^th), goods markets efficiency (32^nd) and a solid and efficient banking sector (42^nd).

The main challenges facing Morocco according to the report are education in which Morocco was ranked 104^th in terms of quality and access, as well as labor market.

Experts encouraged Morocco to commit to a better quality of education, to make education more accessible to the population and to make reforms in labor market in order to improve the skills of the working population. They also noted that a larger use of Information and Communication Technology within enterprises would greatly benefit the country in terms of competitiveness. It was noted as well that the process of economic diversification is important for the future growth of Morocco, in the sense that it will increase exports and direct foreign investments in different industries.

Morocco was ranked first in North Africa ahead of Algeria (79^th), Tunisia (87^th), Egypt (119^th), Libya (126^th) and Mauritania (141^st). On the African scale, Morocco won one place compared to last year and ranks 4^th in the continent behind Mauritius (39^th), South Africa (56^th) and Rwanda (62^nd).

In the MENA region, the list was dominated by Gulf countries. The champions are United Arab Emirates (12^th), Qatar (16^th), Saudi Arabia (24^th), Kuwait (40^th), Bahrain (44^th), Oman (46^th) and Jordan in the 64^th place.

The first three countries worldwide are Switzerland, Singapore and the USA.

The Moroccan Times.