Philippines ranks 46th in human capital report

THE PHILIPPINES ranked 46th among 124 countries surveyed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as those nations conducive to developing its human capital, particularly in the fields of education, skills development, and deployment.

In the WEF’s Human Capital Report 2015, the Philippines made it to the top half of the global list of the report published by the Geneva-based institution on Wednesday.

Although the Philippines ranked substantially higher compared to last year’s report, several changes were made in the indicators, with this year measuring the education, skills development, and deployment in various age groups.

In the 15-and-under age group, the Philippines ranked 73rd, 20th in the 15-24 age group, 51st in the 25-54 age group, 40th in the 55 to 64 age group, and 33rd in the 65-and-over group.

Other indicators were also measured including business perceptions on the quality of education, as well as the innovation ecosystem in education and in business, vulnerability, and public investment in education.

Last year, the index was measured in four pillars — education, health and wellness, work force and employment, and enabling environment. Countries were scored in positive and negative numbers, interpreted as the distance from the mean of all countries in the sample.

In Asia and the Pacific, Japan ranked best at the 5th spot in the 2015 report, followed by New Zealand (9th), Australia (13th) and Singapore (24th). China, India and Indonesia scored lower at 64th, 100th and 69th, respectively.

In Europe and Central Asia, Finland, Norway and Switzerland held the top three positions as having also been the top three overall.

Chile and Uruguay are Latin America and the Caribbean’s best at 45th and 47th, respectively, while in the Middle East and North Africa, Israel led the way at the 29th spot, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar which ranked 54th and 56th.

Among other large advanced economies, France is in 14th position, the United States in the 17th, the United Kingdom in the 19th spot and Germany in the 22nd. The Russian Federation also placed 26th, Brazil at 78th position, and the South Africa at the 92nd.

The index shows that all countries — whether rich or poor — “have yet to optimize their human capital and calls for a new people-centric model of growth.” — Alden M. Monzon, Businessworld