Romania ranks 68th among the 137 countries included in the World Economic Forum’s 2017-2018 Global Competitiveness Report. The country ranked 62nd last year and 53rd the year before.

The Global Competitiveness Report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 137 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. Romania got an overall score of 4.3, on a scale from 1 to 7.

The most problematic factors for doing business in Romania are the tax rates, the inefficient government bureaucracy, access to financing, inadequately educated workforce, and corruption, the reports shows.

Romania ranks 72nd in the Basic Requirements category, which includes institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, and health and primary education, with a score of 4.6.

The country did a little bit better in the Efficiency Enhancers category, where it ranked 58th, down from 55th last year. This category includes higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, and market size.

On the other hand, Romania did even worse than last year in the category of Innovation and Sophistication Factors, which targets business sophistication and innovation. The country ranks 107th in the 2017-2018 report, down from 100th in the previous survey.

Sitzerland ranks first in the overall ranking, with a score of 5.9. The top three is completed by the United States (5.9) and Singapore (5.7). Romania ranks behind countries such as Hungary (at number 60 in the ranking), Slovakia (59), Bulgaria (49) or Poland (39), but higher than Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia, and Greece.

Find the entire report here.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com