Martin Kadzere
ZIMBABWE has achieved a score of 58,5 out of 100 in its first-ever domestic competitiveness baseline survey, placing the country’s overall economic performance in the “moderate” category.
This is contained in the findings of the 2025 National Competitiveness Baseline Survey, conducted jointly by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) and the National Competitiveness Commission (NCC), to establish a national benchmark for future economic policy improvements and structural reforms.
The survey evaluated executive perceptions across four key pillars: inclusiveness, innovativeness, resilience and sustainability.
Inclusiveness emerged as the highest-scoring dimension at 61,5, propelled by strong ratings for equal hiring and promotion opportunities.
The innovativeness score was 59,1, driven by tertiary and vocational training that aligns closely with industry requirements.
However, low competition within service sectors and isolated issues in foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations continue to limit progress in this pillar.
Resilience recorded a score of 57,4. Although supported by a solid domestic talent pool, performance was weighed down by challenges related to judicial impartiality, business costs stemming from corruption, and crime rates.
Sustainability ranked lowest among the four dimensions at 56, 0, hindered by the financial impact of climate change and limited investments in green production methods.
A narrow spread of 5,5 points separates the highest-and lowest-performing pillars across the nation.
The survey collected responses from 1 107 establishments—representing a 67,5 percent response rate—and covered 319 397 employees across all 10 provinces and 16 economic sectors.
Private limited companies comprised 77,6 percent of participating businesses, with wholesale and retail trade (36,1 percent) and manufacturing (13.7 percent) forming the largest sectoral shares.
Policy makers will utilise the results—compiled following the World Economic Forum Future of Growth Framework—to target priority interventions in short-, medium-, and long-term reform agendas.
