Analysis of South Africa`s Market Attractiveness Using the Global Competitiveness Index

: The purpose of this article is to assess South Africa’s market attractiveness using a World Economic Forum (WEF) index called the global competitiveness index (GCI). The analysis is expected to contribute to policy debate in an emerging economy, South Africa, and a region, namely the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The study utilized quantitative data obtained from the WEF from 2004 to 2020 and applied descriptive analysis. South Africa ranks 62nd out of 137 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2021, making it one of the most competitive countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, within Sub-Saharan Africa, there are significant differences in competitiveness, with some countries performing significantly better than others. South Africa’s excellent GCI score reflects its well-developed institutions, large market size, mature corporate sector, and high level of economic development. However, many other Sub-Saharan African countries face similar challenges in education, infrastructure, and labor market efficiency, emphasizing the need for continued investment and policy reform. South Africa will need to address some of the significant challenges identified by the GCI report, such as increasing educational spending, improving teaching quality, increasing infrastructure investment, and addressing issues such as high unemployment and a mismatch between job seekers’ abilities and business demands, in order to improve its competitiveness index. Furthermore, in recent years, South Africa has experienced high levels of corruption, which must be eliminated in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the judicial system and other critical institutions.