Antioquia Competitiveness Index Continues to Improve: CPC 2015 Study

The just-released 2015 edition of Colombia’s national private-sector competitiveness council (Consejo Privado de Competitividad, CPC) “competitiveness index” (CI) study shows that Antioquia’s CI continues to improve.

While the over-all national index shows that Bogota still occupies the number-one spot among Colombia’s various departments (states), Bogota has been slipping, from an 8.20 ranking (on a scale from 0 to 10) in 2013 (the first CPC study) to 8.13 in the latest 2015 ranking.

Over the same period, Antioquia’s competitiveness – second only to Bogota nationally — has steadily climbed, from 6.29 in 2013, to 6.37 in 2014, to 6.55 in 2015, the CPC study shows.

The study of 25 Colombian departments — a joint undertaking of CPC and the Universidad del Rosario’s Centro de Pensamiento en Estrategias Competitivas (CEPEC) — finds that Antioquia has been especially responsive to closing a “competitiveness gap” that historically can be traced to its difficult, mountainous terrain and resulting isolation from the rest of the country.

However, Antioquia’s isolation soon will be obliterated thanks to gigantic highway, ocean port and river-transport infrastructure projects now underway (see “Antioquia, Medellin to See Huge Economic Boost from Infrastructure Projects,” Medellin Herald November 5, 2015).

The CI index is based upon three major categories – over-all (basic) conditions, efficiency and innovation – along with  sub-categories including institutional strengths, infrastructure, total market size, market efficiency, education, health, environmental protection and business leadership.

Antioquia’s ranking this year included a 6.97 rating for “sophistication, ” a 7.06 rating for “innovation,” and a 6.10 rating for “efficiency.”  

Antioquia ranked in the top-three along with Quindio and Risaralda for best institutional management, and took second place in institutional transparency. As for “security and justice,” Antioquia ranked fifth, according to CPC.

In the “infrastructure” category, Antioquia ranked third, behind Risaralda (second) and Bogota (first), according to the study.

As for “information and communications technology” (“TIC” in Spanish), Antioquia took second-place nationally, while its “transport infrastructure” ranked fourth. On the other hand, Antioquia stands-out nationally for its relatively robust airport infrastructure, as Medellin has both an international airport as well as a national airport — unlike Bogota, which has only one, very-congested airport.

While Bogota continues to enjoy the largest-sized internal market in Colombia, Antioquia continues to lead Colombia in external markets, the study shows.

As for health services, Bogota, Antioquia and Santander are the top-three departments, according to CPC’s study.

As for environmental quality, Antioquia leads the nation, followed by Caquetá and Meta. Antioquia is especially notable for its biodiversity (number one in Colombia) as well as for its environmental risk-management (second over-all), according to the study.

In the categories of primary-and-secondary education (K-through-12) as well as for higher education, Bogota, Caldas and Antioquia occupy the top-three spots nationally. Antioquia is especially good at higher education, taking the second over-all rank.

As for market efficiency, Antioquia took the second spot, thanks mainly to its exceptional strength in financial markets, while its over-all labor-market efficiency ranks fifth.

“Bogotá, Antioquia and Valle del Cauca have the most sophisticated and diverse economies in Colombia,” according to CPC.

“Antioquia is distinguished for its sophistication in productivity,” while the three regions with the greatest innovation and enterprise-dynamism are Bogotá, Antioquia and Caldas, according to the study.

Antioquia also took second-place over-all in rankings for information and communications technology (TIC), patent and enterprise-dynamism, along with a third-place for technical investigations.

Among Antioquia’s strengths in the CI rankings, according to the study:

Institutions: 7.17 rating, 2nd over-all;

Infrastructure: 7.03 rating, 3rd over-all;

Market size: 9.01 rating, 2nd over-all;

Primary and secondary education: 6.20 rating, 5th over-all;

Health: 6.57 rating, 2nd over-all;

Environment: 6.78 rating, 1st over-all;

Efficiency: 6.10 rating, 3rd over-all;

Higher education: 6.60 rating, 3rd over-all;

Market efficiency: 5.60 rating, 2nd over-all;

Sophistication and innovation: 7.06 rating, 2nd over-all;

Diversification: 8.68 rating, 2nd over-all;

Innovation and enterprise dynamism: 5.43 rating, 2nd over-all.