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According to the latest Report of Competitiveness 2016-2017 of the World Economic Forum, Colombia ranked 61 out of 138 economies in the world. The list is led by Switzerland, Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands and Germany. In Latin America, the best rated are Chile in the 33th place, Panama at number 42, Mexico is positioned in #51 and Costa Rica is listed as 54. The fifth place is for Colombia. However, Brazil fell to the 81 position, Argentina is at 104 and Venezuela at 130.

This index measures the competitiveness of each country analysing their institutions, policies and providing insights into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. It consists of a set of indicators, grouped into 12 pillars (Institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health, basic education, higher education and training, efficiency of the market of goods, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological preparation, size of the country’s market and business sophistication and innovation) which are divided into 112 variables that include official figures and information from opinion polls made to most of the business leaders in all the evaluated countries.

Inside Colombia

The Private Competitiveness Council works along with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, which in March 2017 presented with the European Union the bilateral cooperation project for an amount of 31.8 million euros up until 2019 to support the territorial competitiveness in Colombia. As the Minister Maria Claudia Lacouture assured, «The European Union support will allow us to extend the impact of several of the initiatives we have been carrying out from the trade, industry and tourism sectors and with which we are moving forward to the goal of becoming the third most competitive economy in the region by 2032″.

Within Colombia, the Private Competitiveness Council presented the National Competitiveness Index, which classifies ​​26 departments by their performance in this area by evaluating: basic conditions, efficiency and innovation. The importance of this index is that the departmental results are reflected jointly in the general performance of the country.

The past two evaluations, the ones for 2015 and 2016, show that the capital, Bogota, Antioquia, Caldas and Santander are the four most competitive regions in Colombia. The first city of the Republic, occupies the 1st place in infrastructure, size of the market, basic and average education, health and business dynamics.

Thus, it is expected that in the next 15 years, Colombia will manage to have a greater level of income per person; equivalent to the middle-high-income countries, through an exporter economy of prime and innovative goods and services, as well as with a business environment that encourages local and foreign investment, regional convergence and enhances formal employment opportunities, among others.