Malaysia is now the 14 th most competitive economy in the world, according to a survey carried out by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) of Switzerland.

The IMD survey measures how well countries manage their economic and human resources to increase prosperity. Fifty-nine countries were surveyed for this year's Report.

According to the IMD, Malaysia strengthened its overall competitiveness by two positions, moving up to 14 th position from last year's 16 th position. This ranking places Malaysia ahead of countries like Australia (15 th ), the United Kingdom (18 th ), Korea (22 nd ), China (23 rd ), Japan (27 th ), France (29 th ), Thailand (30 th ), Indonesia (42 nd ) and the Philippines (43 rd ).

The 15 most competitive economies in the world, according to the IMD rankings, are: Hong Kong, the USA, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, Taiwan, Norway, Germany, Qatar, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Malaysia and Australia.

Among countries with GDP per capita of less than USD20,000, Malaysia maintains its second position among 29 countries, ahead of China, Chile and Thailand.

Among Asia Pacific countries, Malaysia improved by one position to 4 th , after Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The IMD reports that the competitiveness ranking of “all Asian economies have declined apart from Hong Kong (1), Malaysia (14) and Korea (22).”

Malaysia's overall improved ranking in the IMD survey reflects the impact of the measures the Government has undertaken to improve the competitiveness of the Malaysian economy. These wide-ranging measures include improvements in the delivery and efficiency of public services and increased transparency and accountability. Malaysia's enhanced competitiveness is rooted in the innovative and bold initiatives undertaken by the Government in the past year to drive development, growth and create a resilient private sector.

The IMD survey assessed countries according to 4 main competitiveness factors:

• Economic Performance

• Government Efficiency

• Business Efficiency

• Infrastructure

Malaysia registered significant improvements in the Business Efficiency category (6 th position from last year's 14 th ) and in the Government Efficiency category (13 th from 17 th ). Ranking improvements were recorded in the sub-categories of business productivity and efficiency, finance, business legislation, and societal framework.

In Economic Performance category, although Malaysia maintains its top 10 ranking, its position slipped by 3 places from last year's 7 th ranking. This is attributable to slower employment growth and concerns over rising prices.

In the Infrastructure category, Malaysia marginally improved its ranking to 26 th position from 27 th position. Areas of concern are Health and the Environment, Education and Scientific Infrastructure.

We recognize there are areas where improvements in our competitiveness can still be made. Special attention will be given to address these concerns. Our overall objective remains the same: to achieve a top 10 ranking in the near future.