MANAMA: The Kingdom of Bahrain is ranked 42, among 181 countries, for productivity potential according to a new KPMG report – the ‘Variables for Sustained Growth (VSG) Index’.
The report compares the productivity potential of 181 countries by looking at factors including macroeconomic stability, openness to adopt best practice, infrastructure quality, human capital and strength of public institutions.
Economic growth is primarily a consequence of three factors: a growing labor force, a rise in capital stock, and improvements to productivity, an aspect that plays a crucial part in countries’ quest for prosperity.
By analyzing productivity, public policy makers and investors, can better understand how some of the major productivity drivers evolve over time and how each country’s performance compares with its’ peers.
“The report’s findings are a testament to the ongoing efforts made by the government, public and private sectors in Bahrain. The Kingdom has been ranked highly, coming third to the UAE (ranked 26) and Qatar (ranked 27) amongst the GCC countries,” Jamal Fakhro, KPMG in Bahrain’s Managing Partner, said.
“The Bahrain economic vision correlates to many of the factors that enhance productivity identified in the report, which could be a useful analytical tool for public and private sector organizations giving them a deeper understanding of the country’s economic growth potential,” he added.
To help better analyze the data, it is useful to compare countries that have similar personal income levels – for Bahrain, peers include Norway, Singapore and Luxembourg.
Amongst this group, Bahrain scores well in the quality of roads and ports, demonstrating the strength of the transport networks and highlighting the progress made to elevate the country’s infrastructure and overall economy.
Western European countries dominate the 2016 VSG Index, with Singapore and Hong Kong the only non-European countries to earn a place in the top 10. Switzerland scored highest, followed by the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
