Country rankings : Regional leader, global struggler

Mauritius has improved its global ranking in the latest Doing Business Report by the World Bank, from the 49th position to the 25th, which is a remarkable achievement. The country fares well in most international rankings, though we are underperforming in some. While we remain a leader in the region, we are struggling to compete globally.

Global rankings act as a barometer, showcasing our performance on a global scale, mainly on the social and economic fronts. In the recently released Doing Business Report 2018, Mauritius has managed to climb to the 25th position, after a long period of underperformance. This is thanks to robust reforms brought about by the authorities, according to the World Bank.

The measures pertain to improvements in many business indicators such as Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permits, Getting Electricity, Registering Property, Paying taxes, Trading Across Borders, Enforcing contracts and Resolving Insolvency.

Mauritius has achieved a remarkable performance in many other rankings and is also a regional leader. For example, Mauritius ranks first in the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance since 2007. But there are also cases where the country has performed poorly, for example in the Environmental Performance Index, where, from the 6th place in 2010, Mauritius has fallen to the 56e position in 2015 and further to the 77th position in 2016. Similarly, in the Global Innovation Index, we are at the 64th place in 2017, compared to the 53rd position last year.

Human Development Index

In the Human Development Index, we are now at the 64th position, while last year we were 63rd.  But this is a major improvement from the 80th position we were in 2012.

Doing Business

Following robust measures taken in the Business Facilitation act, to further streamline procedures, Mauritius has been able to make it to the Top 25 in the Doing Business Survey 2018. The 25th position indeed came as a real surprise, especially when we ranked 49th last year. However, we have seen better days in this survey, as we were at the 20th position in 2014, before falling to the 32nd place the following year. Our best performance was in 2010, when we ranked 17th globally.

A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index

Mauritius has again lost a few places in the AT Kearney Global Services Location Index, which is an important indicator for the Outsourcing sector. We now rank 34th, against our 30th position last year. Our best performance was in 2009 when were were at the 25th position.

Global Innovation Index

The Global Innovation Index (GII) is another index where we have performed poorly, falling from the 53rd place in 2016 to the 64th position in 2017. In 2015, we occupied a more honourable position, at 49th, and even better in 2o14 when we ranked 40th. The GII is one of the rare rankings where we are struggling to be among the top performers.

Index of Economic Freedom

We have lost our prominent place in the Top 10 of the Index of Economic Freedom by ‘The Heritage Foundation’ since 2014. This year, we are at the 21st position, on a list of 180 countries, while last year we ranked 15th. It should be noted that we were at the 8th position in 2012 and 2013. However, in a similar index, the Economic Freedom of the World by the Fraser Institute, we remain in the Top 10, among 159 countries. This year, we are at the 7th position, losing two places after maintaining the 5th position since 2012.

Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey

Another survey where we are losing shine! This year, we are at the 84th position, one place down since last year. In the past, we improved drastically from the 82nd position in 2010 to the 59th place in 2014.

Press Freedom Index

The Press Freedom Index ranks us at the 56th position out of 180 countries in 2017, up five places since 2016. Our rank has oscillated around these positions for the past few years.

Global Competitiveness Index

In the Global Competitiveness Index, we maintain our 45th place since 2016. This is a major improvement since 2010, when we ranked 57th. 

Other rankings

In the Global Enabling Report, we have lost 10 places over one year, reaching the 39th place out of 136 countries in 2017. In the Forbes Survey of Best Countries for Business, we have also lost two places over a year, attaining the 39th position in 2017. Same trend noted in the Corruption Perception Index, where we are at the 54th place in 2017. Another poor performance be noted in the Logistics Performance Index of 2016, where we ranked 101st out of 167 countries.

Though we were at a worse position, at 115th, in 2014, we fared better in the past, being at the 82nd position in 2010 and improving to 72nd place two years later. On the other hand, there has been a slight improvement in our ranking at the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, where we move up one place to land at the 55th position this year, out of 136 countries.