Publications
Fact Sheet
2021

2020 Global Competitiveness – South Africa’s Performance on the Path to Recovery

In line with the WEF’s 2020 Global Competitiveness Report – Special Edition1, the purpose of this Fact Sheet is to provide a brief overview of South Africa’s global standing in relation to readiness for economic transformation, the transformation of education curricula and investment in skills.

Abstract

The Global Competitiveness Report is published annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF), which ranks countries based on progress scores derived from annual assessments of drivers of productivity and long-term economic growth. The 2020 release of the report is a special edition which assesses each country’s readiness to both transformation and recovery from the combined effect of health and economic shocks experienced by countries globally, and the accelerated effects of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) on trade, skills, digitisation, competition and employment.

The key area of interest relevant to the mandatory work of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) is the revival and transformation of human capital. In line with the WEF’s 2020 Global Competitiveness Report – Special Edition1, the purpose of this Fact Sheet is to provide a brief overview of South Africa’s global standing in relation to readiness for economic transformation, the transformation of education curricula and investment in skills.

This publication covers

  • Methodology & data
  • Terms & definitions
  • Summary of findings
  • South Africa’s readiness for economic transformation
  • Human capital