The Philippines fell two notches in the IMD’s 2024 World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR), to 61st from 59th in 2023 among 67 economies monitored by the report.
This is the lowest rank achieved by the Philippines since 2017 when IMD started measuring the capacity and readiness of economies in adopting and exploring digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in business, government, and wider society.
In Asia-Pacific, the Philippines languished at 13th among the 14 economies, better only than Mongolia.
The report said the Philippines dropped in the three pillars used to determine competitiveness: knowledge, 64th (-1); technology, 56th (-5) and; future readiness, 58th (-1). Except for future readiness, these are the worst rankings of the Philippines in the major pillars.
In the knowledge sub-sectors, the Philippines dwelled in the bottom eight: 62nd in education; 61st in scientific concentration and 60th in talent.
In technology, it reached nearly the bottom, at 66th, in terms of regulation.
The report cited some strengths of the Philippines: female researchers and hightech exports where it ranked second for both sub-factors; investments in telecommunications, 9th, flexibility and adaptability, 19th and graduates in sciences, 22nd. Singapore led all 67 economies in this year’s digital competitiveness report.
