Kazakhstan joins Top 50 most competitive countries

Kazakhstan has improved its position in the Global Competitiveness Index, advancing from the 51st to the 50th place in the rating., Tengrinews.kz reports citing the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 of the World Economic Forum. Joining the club of the Top 50 most competitive countries of the world has been a long-term priority for Kazakhstan. It has been hard had to achieve it for several years. Although the country made but a small step in this year's ranking - moving only one line (Kazakhstan was ranked 51st in the 2012-2013 report), it made a huge leap the year before: Kazakhstan was ranked 72nd in 2011-2012 report. “Kazakhstan improves by one position to rank 50th this year. The country benefits from a flexible and efficient labor market (15th) and a stable macroeconomic environment (23rd) at a time when many countries are struggling in these areas. Kazakhstan’s main challenges relate to its health and primary education systems (97th), its lack of business sophistication (94th), and its low innovation (84th),” the report writes. Kazakhstan’s neighbors, China and Russia, are ranked 29th and 64th, correspondingly. The rating’s leaders traditionally include Switzerland, Singapore and Finland. They are followed by Germany, the U.S., Sweden, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Japan and Great Britain. The last countries in the rating are Burundi, Guinea and Chad, ranking 146th to 148th.