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Brand South Africa today welcomed South Africa’s rise of two places in the annual World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Index.  South Africa now stands at 47 of 138 – up from 49 in 2015 - countries measured on 12 pillars.

According to the 2016 study, South Africa has demonstrated sustained improvements in its performance from 2015.  The Nation Brand has improved in 10 of the 12 pillars:

1. Goods & Market Efficiency – 10 positions (28/138 countries)
2.  Labour Market Efficiency - 10 positions (97/138 countries)
3.  Higher Education & Training – 6 positions (77/138 countries)
4.  Macro-economic environment – 6 positions (79/138 countries)
5.  Innovation - 3 positions (35/138 countries)
6.  Infrastructure – 4 positions (64 of 138 countries)
7.  Health & Primary Education – 3 positions (126 of 138 countries)
8.  Business Sophistication - 3 positions (30 of 138 countries)
9.  Financial Market Development – 1 position (11 of 138 countries)
10. Technological Readiness - 1 position (49 of 138 countries)

South Africa declined in the area of market size, down to 30 from 29 in 2015 and institutions down to 40 from 38 in 2015.

Brand South Africa’s CEO Dr Kingsley Makhubela says that South Africa’s improved performance in the Global Competitive Index is positively correlated with the policies and programmes being implemented by the Nation Brand to strengthen the economy and the way in which it is able to respond to contemporary social issues.

“The results in the 2016 WEF Global Competitiveness Index indicates that South Africa is indeed resilient in the face of global headwinds and a range of other challenges.  More importantly, these results confirm that we are on the right path as a nation in terms of the solutions we are implementing to strengthen our economy.  The strides we are making in collectively executing the National Development Plan and 9 point plan for economic development are yielding positive results for the country and our people.”

“Brand South Africa expresses its appreciation to all citizens of the country for your steadfast commitment to ensuring that the Nation Brand strengthens its value proposition for citizens in particular and the international community in general,” concluded Dr Makhubela.

According to the World Economic Forum “South Africa slightly improves both its score and ranking (47th, up two). It has been relatively less affected by commodity price falls than other economies in the region, and has registered marginal improvements in almost all aspects of competitiveness. Most significant areas of progress include enhanced competition, both locally (up 13 places) and internationally (up 16 places); better use of talent in terms of how pay reflects productivity (98th, up 29 places); and a small but important upgrade in the quality of education (up five places), with primary school enrolment also now passing 97 percent.”


This is the latest in a series of international instruments which highlight the strengthening of the Nation Brand’s competitiveness.  The Institute of Management Development’s Competitive Index and the World Bank’s Logistics Index are amongst the indices where South Africa has improved in its performance.

Issued by Brand South Africa