South Korea

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report of 2020, South Korea ranks number 1 among the list of countries that have adopted ICT. Here ICT adoption refers to the acceptance of information and communication technolo- gies in a country.

WEF’s report also highlighted that over 80% of business leaders believe that South Korea will be more globalized in the future than today. Additionally, the report also underlined South Korea’s well-balanced and progressive tax structure in comparison to other countries on the list.

Meanwhile, the World Bank, in 2021, gave South Korea a percentile rank of 77.40 in the ‘control of corruption’ series. This indicates that the country ranks higher than roughly 77% of other countries in the list under the broad metric of corruption control.

India

As per WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report of 2020, India has seen an emergence of hotspots in the country that have become hubs of start-ups and a few unicorns. These hotspots are visible in the tech hubs of Mumbai and Bangalore.

However, the report also highlighted that India has room for improvement in the ar- eas of education and taxation measures. As per the report, India has a transformation readiness score of 55.8 in the category of ‘shift to more progressive taxation’. This is higher than the scores received by France, Germany, and the UK.

Meanwhile, India has received a percentile rank of 46.63 in World Bank’s 2021 control of corruption analysis. In the same year, the World Bank gave India a percentile rank of 66.35 in the ‘government effectiveness’ series.

Indonesia

Indonesia has over 60% of business leaders’ positive opinions about its increased globalization in the future, as per WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report of 2020. The country has a transformation readiness score of 53.7 in terms of a shift to more pro- gressive tax structure, beating the US’ score of 52.8.

Indonesia received a percentile rank of 38.48 from the World Bank in 2021 under the series ‘control of corruption’. The country’s ‘regulatory quality’ percentile rank in 2021 was 62.5, as compared to 59.13 in 2020.

However, the WEF’s report also stressed that Indonesia might be less prepared for an economic transformation through its infrastructure.

Apart from these indicators, Indonesia has also reported a decrease in its depen- dence on commodity exports and accelerated role of its manufacturing industry in the economy.

Brazil

Brazil is a resource-rich country with over 60% of the Amazon rainforest located in the country. The country reported a real GDP increase of 2.9% in 2022, led mostly by an increase in household consumption.

High inflation levels have presented as a major challenge to the Brazilian economy, with inflation peaking at 12.1% in April 2022. However, Brazil possesses inherent capac- ity to see accelerated growth and economic recovery over the coming years.

Over 70% of business leaders have given a positive assessment of the country’s ability to see increased globalization in the future, as per the Global Competitiveness Report of 2020. The report also showcased that the country has allowed better redirection of resources towards long-term investment among other developing peers.

Sweden

The WEF has ranked Sweden number 2 in terms of digital skills present in the country and number 4 in terms of ICT adoption, in its Global Competitiveness Report of 2020. As per the report, Sweden also ranks number 7 in terms of the digital legal framework present in the country.

Sweden also has the highest score among all countries in the eldercare, childcare and healthcare infrastructure category covered under the WEF report. The report also suggested that Sweden is closer than other countries in achieving expanded access to care services.

On an aggregate basis, Sweden received an economic transformation readiness score of 68.5, beating scores of several large economies such as the UK, the US and the Russian Federation.