CAIRO, Sept 28 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's ranking remained stable in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index of 2016-2017, placed at 115th out of 138 countries.

The country ranked 116th out of 140 in the 2015-2016 Global Competitive Index (GCI), which assesses "the competitiveness landscape" of economies and provides insights into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.

Two countries, Guinea and Haiti, were missing from this year's report. They both ranked lower than Egypt in GCI 2015-2016. 

Egypt witnessed slower economic growth in 2015 relative to average growth between 2000 and 2012. This is partly due to "spillover effects from regional conflict," the report said.

The macroeconomic environment ranked low (134) compared to other states, while the quality of institutions (ranked 87) remained stable.

Egypt's large market size, promising business sector and geographical proximity to the large European market are factors that can contribute to more growth and employment, the report read.

"To do so, Egypt needs to step up its reform efforts and address the major rigidities that plague its goods, labor, and financial markets," the report outlined.

The reforms needed include strengthening the private sector, promoting competition, reducing red tape and making labor markets more flexible.

The report prioritised improving the quality of higher education and training, ranked 134, describing it as below the performance of peer economies.

The overall security situation, ranked 133, "remains fragile and imposes significant cost for business." 

The GCI combines 114 indicators that capture concepts that matter for productivity and long-term prosperity.

The indicators are grouped into 12 pillars: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.

Switzerland was ranked as the most competitive economy in the world for eight years in a row, followed by Singapore, the United States, Netherlands and Germany.