Bangladesh is ranked 86th out of 127 countries globally in absorbing political, economic, financial, social and natural shocks, says a new study.
According to the Global Change Readiness Index (CRI) 2015, a list that is generated by the world’s leading and largest professional service company KPMG, Bangladesh is placed 4th among the eight South Asian nations.
Bangladesh performed better than Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan which secured 94th, 103rd and 124th positions respectively.
Sri Lanka, which is in a year of political transition, was ranked 62nd topping the countries from the region. Sri Lanka has shown immense growth in terms of change and has surpassed most of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets set for 2015, according to the report.
The two other South Asian countries ahead of Bangladesh are India 67th and Bhutan 76th.
Earlier in 2013 CRI index, Bangladesh ranked 54th out of 90 countries.
The CRI is the only global study of its kind ranking 127 countries, covering 94% of the world population, for their capacity to prepare for and respond to accelerating change brought about by everything from natural disasters and economic and political shocks to long-term trends such as demographics and new technologies.
Singapore leads the list, which is dominated by smaller open economies: Switzerland, Hong Kong, Norway, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Qatar, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
The least prepared country according to the list is Chad followed by Guinea, Burundi and Afghanistan.
Standing at 97th position, Myanmar saw a significant decline from its 52nd place in 2013.
In assessing capability for change readiness, the CRI measures a country’s capacity in three areas: enterprise capability, government capability and people and civil society capability.
Bangladesh secured the 81st, 88th and 91st places in these three pillars respectively.
The 2015 CRI provides unique insights with smaller, less wealthy and resource-endowed countries often outperforming larger economies on key measures of change readiness.
The report said a number of lower-income countries performed well demonstrating the benefits of effective policy and investment in compensating for lower levels of wealth.
The Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia are lower-income countries that all ranked within the top 50 of the index.
As governments and businesses compete for investment and resources on a global stage, and cope with population growth, climate change, urbanisation and resource scarcity, such detailed understanding could help break down barriers to growth and development and ensure better preparedness for change.
Produced in partnership with Oxford Economics, the CRI is designed to be used by both the public and private sectors for informed decisions on policy making and investments.
The release of the CRI comes as United Nations member states prepare to adopt Sustainable Development Goals in September to help guide policies for the next 15 years.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
