South Africa’s competiveness has inched back to its former ranking at number 52 in the Institute for Management Development’s (IMD’s) competitiveness index for 2016, recovering from its one-ranking slip to 53 in 2015.

Presenting the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016 on Friday, Productivity South Africa executive manager Sello Mosai said that advancements in energy infrastructure, future energy supply, stock market capitalisation, information and communication technology service exports and maintenance and development helped pushed the country up a notch.

However, this was still a very low ranking out of IMD’s measurement of 61 countries, with South Africa’s depressed economy and adjusted consumer price inflation dragging on overall competitiveness, compounded by the threat of relocated production and a rising business start-up days indicator.

Only nine of the reviewed countries, including Jordan, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, Mongolia and Greece, were less competitive than South Africa, he told delegates at the Infrastructure Africa conference.

Hong Kong, China, took the top spot, followed by Switzerland, the US, Singapore, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Russia secured a ranking of 44, India 41, China’s Mainland 25, Turkey 38 and Japan 26.

Mosai pointed out, however, that South Africa was the only country in Africa rated against all other developing and developed countries.

Breaking down the competitiveness rating further, he noted that South Africa’s economic performance deteriorated from 49 in 2015 to 54 in 2016, with the country’s strengths in terms of the lower cost of living, office rent and export concentration by partner offset by the weaknesses of unemployment, threats of relocated production and youth unemployment, among others.

While business efficiency improved from 52 last year to 47 this year, showing strength in stock market capitalisation, finance and banking regulation, and regulatory compliance, it was dragged somewhat by weaknesses of labour relations, workforce productivity and worker motivation.

South Africa’s government efficiency ranking remained stable at 40, while infrastructure improved from 55 to 54 year-on-year.

The government efficiency category showed strengths in personal income tax, social security contribution rates and ageing society indicators, but showed weakness in, among others, the Gini coefficient and immigration laws.

South Africa’s strengths emerged in the indicators of secondary-school enrolment, total public expenditure on education and mobile telephone subscribers, while its weaknesses were life expectancy at birth, health problems and access to water.