The Philippines dropped three places from 56th in 2022 to 59th out of 64 economies in the 2023 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR).
It placed 13th in digital competitiveness in the Asia Pacific region.
IMD said Thursday the results of the report highlighted the return of the US as the top ranked country in terms of digital competitiveness.
It said the Philippines slid by a notch in knowledge factor to 63rd from 62nd, two notches in technology factor to 51st form 49th and 1 place to 59th from 58th in the future readiness factor.
The country’s global digital competitiveness ranking steadily declined for three consecutive years since 2019, but rebounded two places to 56th in 2022 from 58th in 2021. It has sustained its 13th ranking in APAC since 2020.
IMD said while the Philippines showed improvements in technological framework by two places to 43rd in 2023 from 41st in 2022, it needed to enhance its regulatory framework and boost capital investments.
The Philippines should also improve on the knowledge and future readiness factors to move up on global and regional rankings, according to the report.
The top economies in this year’s ranking are those that could be considered “digital nations” or those that facilitate the full adoption of digital technologies, including AI, by governments, companies and individuals.
After having fallen to second place for the first time since the inception of the WDCR in 2017, the United States moved back to the top position, while the Netherlands ranked second as it advanced four positions, followed closely by Singapore, which ranked first in the technology factor.
Denmark, the overall leader of the 2022 edition of the ranking, dropped to fourth place mainly due to a decline in future readiness and technology factors. Switzerland, the top-ranked economy in the knowledge factor, maintained its position and rounded out the top 5.
“While we measure no specific AI indicators, the technology sits silently at the core of several of the subfactors that we quantify: talent, regulatory and technological frameworks, and adaptive attitudes and business agility. On a data level, the quality of digital regulation, the funding available for technology development, and the degree of company agility are all data points that are enmeshed with AI,” said IMD’s World Competitiveness Center director Arturo Bris.
The 2023 WDCR studied 64 economies –including Kuwait for the first time – by looking into three main factors: knowledge, technology and future readiness.