The latest edition of the Global Competitiveness Report (2016- 201) has been released by the World Economic Forum.

This report is used globally by industry leaders and companies considering investment destinations.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2016 – 2017 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) assesses the competitiveness of 138 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their  productivity and prosperity by measuring over 100 indicators.

South Africa ranked no 56 in 2014,  and improved with nine positions to 47 in 2016.

The summary of South Africa is on page 325 of the report.

Here are the highlights of South Africa including the following positive rankings:

• Strength of auditing and reporting standards (1st )
• Protection of minority shareholders interest (1st ),
• Efficacy of corporate boards (3rd ),
• Financing through local equity market (1st ),
• Financial services meeting business needs (2nd )
• Soundness of Banks (2nd)
• Regulation of securities exchange (3rd),
• Effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy (7th),
• Efficiency of legal framework in settling disputes (9th)
• Quality of air infrastructure transport (10th)
• Ease of access to loans (12th)
• Judicial independence (16th)
• Extent of Marketing (16th)
• Quality of management schools (21st)
• Internet bandwidth (21st).

South African points for improvement include:

• Cooperation in labour-employer relationships (138^th )
• Quality of maths and science education (138th )
• Tuberculosis incidence (137^th )
• HIV prevalence (135^th )
• Flexibility of wage determination (135^th )
• Hiring and firing practices (135^th )
• Quality of Education system (134^th )
• Business cost of crime (133^rd  )

DOWNLOAD THE FULL GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT HERE