Philippines climbs to 51st in global competitiveness report

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ competitiveness ranking improved by one spot in 2025, rising to 51st place out of 69 economies.

This is according to the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2025 Report published by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

But compared to its neighbors, the Philippines’ standing in the yearbook remains low, with the country ranking 13th out of 14 economies included in the Asia-Pacific region, a press release from the international body said.

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The Philippines also ranked last of the five included economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region, it added.

The top three most competitive economies in the 2025 rankings report are Switzerland in first place, followed by Singapore and Hong Kong.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the leading economies are Singapore in second place, Hong Kong in third, and Taiwan in sixth.

Delving deeper into the Philippines’ standing, its ranking in the business efficiency pillar declined further, dropping from 43rd place in 2024 to 46th in 2025.

Despite this, there were improvements in key sub-factors productivity and efficiency, which rose by eight spots, from 51st to 43rd, while management practices moved up from 47th to 44th.

However, most of the other sub-factors saw a decline.

The labor market ranking fell from 32nd to 37th, and attitudes and values dropped from 33rd to 38th.

The finance sub-factor, on the other hand, remained unchanged.

Additionally, the country’s performance in the government efficiency pillar declined in 2025, dropping two spots from 49th to 51st.

Although there was a slight improvement in the business legislation sub-factor, which moved up one place to 59th, other areas recorded weaker performances.

The tax policy ranking slipped from 15th to 17th, the institutional framework fell from 53rd to 54th, and the societal framework declined from 55th to 59th.

The public finance sub-factor showed no change.

On a more positive note, the Philippines made notable gains in the economic performance pillar, improving its overall ranking from 40th in 2024 to 33rd in 2025.

Most sub-factors under this pillar showed progress, except for international investment, which experienced a slight decline from 44th to 45th.

The prices sub-factor posted the biggest gain, jumping nine places to 39th.

Other key indicators also improved, with the domestic economy rising from 27th to 22nd, international trade advancing from 58th to 55th, and employment climbing from 10th to 7th.

The Philippines’ Infrastructure pillar, which has consistently been a challenge in previous reports, also improved slightly in 2025, moving up one spot from 61st to 60th.

The basic infrastructure sub-factor improved from 62nd to 60th, while technological infrastructure saw a significant jump from 55th to 43rd.

(2025/06/17-07:01)