Hong Kong fails to improve its competitive edge in global index
Education and innovation hold city back from advancing in global index of 144 economies
Hong Kong retained its seventh-place ranking for a second year in the annual Global Competitiveness Index released by the World Economic Forum yesterday, with middling scores on education and innovation preventing it from rising higher.
The index ranks the competitiveness of 144 economies, based on indicators covering infrastructure, education, institutions and nine other categories.
To boost its competitiveness ranking, Hong Kong must improve higher education, where it ranked 22nd, and innovation, where it fell three places to 26th.
The city's limited availability of engineers and the standard of local research institutions dragged down its innovation ranking.
The report has been compiled since 2004, and Hong Kong has ranked among the world's top 10 economies since 2012.
Switzerland led the index and Singapore ranked second for a fourth consecutive year, topping three out of the index's 12 categories as its focus on education helped maintain its position, the report said.