Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan was rated 55th among 142 countries in the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness report for 2011-2012, advancing two points compared to last year’s ranking.

According to WEF, a poll conducted among businesspeople revealed that corruption is the main hurdle to doing business in the South Caucasus republic, with 19.6 percent of respondents expressing this opinion. The other 15 factors cited as obstacles to entrepreneurship included the lack of available funds and skilled workforce, alleged shortfalls in taxation laws, underdeveloped infrastructure, red tape and inflation.

Nonetheless, Azerbaijan was rated as one of the leaders for the efficiency of labor markets and economic stability, ranking 14th and 16th respectively. The worst ranking was granted on healthcare and primary education – 105th.

The former Soviet republic surpassed Latvia (64th), Russia (66th), Kazakhstan (72nd), Ukraine (82nd), Georgia (88th), Armenia (92nd), and Moldova (93rd) on the Global Competitiveness Index.

The first place in the world list of competitiveness was taken by Switzerland. The top five also includes Singapore, Sweden, Finland and the United States.

The lowest-ranked countries are Burundi, Haiti and Chad.

The Global Competitiveness Index rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available data and the results of annual surveys conducted by the WEF. The efficiency of commodity and labor markets, the quality of health and education, the macro economic situation and the development of financial markets are key factors considered by the WEF.

WEF, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization established in 1971, is mainly engaged in economic research.