The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) is a renowned tool for assessing the competitiveness of economies worldwide.

This year, IMD's World Competitiveness Center (WCC) has expanded its scope to include Ghana, Nigeria, and Puerto Rico.

The incorporation of the former two is part of a deliberate strategy to incorporate more African economies into the WCR, and its spin-off rankings, the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking and the World Talent Ranking, published towards the end of each year.

Ghana reaches 65th out of the 67 economies measured.

One area of particular concern is education where Ghana ranked 66th. Education is the bedrock of long-term performance, driving both a productive workforce and research.

This starts at primary school and gets more important with age. Ghana also performed poorly in international trade (66th), but even here there are also some relative strengths at the criteria level.

For example, in the export concentration by partner criterion Ghana ranked 48th indicating that it exports to a relatively wide range of countries helping build a certain resilience to economic cycles.

An important area of strength is the attitudes and values subfactor, where it ranks 42nd. It also performs in the societal framework subfactor (53rd), showing a strong performance in criteria such as Freedom of the press (37th) as well as criteria from IMD's executive opinion survey such as social cohesion (22nd) and the low risk of political instability (25th).

"Societal indicators are important success measurements of the development and quality of life of the economy and indicate that Ghana is somewhat a beacon in the region," the report said.

Also, from the IMD's executive opinion survey 67.8% indicated that there exist a business friendly environment and 64.4% responded that the economy has skilled workforce which are important indicators for investors that are considering doing business in the country.

By incorporating African countries into the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, MD is providing a timely performance Indicator - and a unique tool-tailored to these nations' specific needs and challenges.

The ranking serves as a benchmark for these countries to measure their progress and identify areas for improvement, offering a clear path towards the economic development that many African nations are seeking.

A growing number of governments across the continent are promoting inclusiveness, prosperity, and economic growth; efforts that align with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, and which paint a promising picture of the future.

The Center's work is, and always has been, largely about providing nations with tangible ideas so they can refine their roadmaps towards optimum financial strategies, and as such have always contributed towards such global collective efforts of which the SDGs are the latest.

Including African countries in the rankings actively contributes to their economic development efforts.

The rankings help attract investment, inform policy decisions, and foster a competitive spirit among nations. This, in tum, can lead to improved living standards, job creation, and sustainable development, shaping the economic landscape for years to come.

The IMD World Competitiveness Center worked in close collaboration with Ghana's Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) and Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to collect the necessary statistical and survey data for Ghana's inclusion in the 2024 ranking.

The Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDP) an agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) of Ghana identified five key challenges for Ghana, and resolving these can be considered priorities for decision makers.

Among the challenges are unsustainable government debts seeing local currency depreciated against the major international currencies, rising inflation rates increasing cost of living and putting a strain on household income and lack of decent job opportunities resulting in rising youth unemployment rate.

Others include heavy reliance on imported products and absence of productivity indicators affecting the growth of locally manufactured products and high energy-sector cost greatly impeding economy's competitiveness.