MANILA - The Philippines ranked 5th out of 9 economies in Southeast Asia in terms of competitiveness, according to a report released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Among countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Singapore remains the most competitive, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Globally, Singapore is second only to the United States in competitiveness, Malaysia is 25th, Thailand 38th, Indonesia 45th and the Philippines 56th.

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Other ASEAN economies included in the ranking are Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao PDR. Myanmar was not covered.

Among ASEAN countries, the Philippines ranks 3rd in labor market competitiveness behind Singapore and Malaysia; 3rd in macroeconomic stability behind Malaysia and Singapore, and 4th in innovation capability and financial systems.

The Philippines, however still lags behind its Asian neighbors in terms of institutions, health, and infrastructure.

Philippines ranked poorly in terms of terrorism incidence, homicide rate, organized crime, and reliability of police services.

The report said the Philippines, along with Nigeria, Yemen, South Africa, Pakistan, had notable problems related to violence, crime or terrorism, and where the police are considered unreliable.

In infrastructure, Philippines reminds behind in road connectivity, exposure to unsafe drinking water, efficiency of train services, and electrification rate.

The Philippines also ranked low in terms of business dynamism, especially in the amount of time it takes to start a business, the cost of starting a business, and in insolvency recovery rates.

“With the recently passed Ease of Doing Business Act, we remain optimistic that the government will be able to sustain these gains and address the concerns of efficiency in doing business,” said Makati Business Club Chairman Edgar Chua.

WEF said this year’s rankings are not comparable to previous reports, as the organization transitioned to a new Competitiveness Index.