Global Competetiveness Report

Limitations of Quantitative Data
Methodology
Data Sources
Only data from reliable sources was included in the index. Most data points and data series
were extracted from the World Banks statistical database as well as from the combined UN
database that contains statistical data across several UN agencies.
Data reliability & accuracy
The data sources (World Bank, UN agencies) are considered reliable and unbiased. Raw
data from the various databases was used as a basis for calculation as-is, i.e. without verifying
the actual data.
Limitations of quantitative analysis
In order to exclude subjectivity, only quantitative data has been taken into account.
However, quantitative indicators sometimes are not able to differentiate or express real and
actual levels of quality. High spending on health care for example does not necessarily
guarantee high quality health care system available for the average citizen. Equally, the
percentage of school enrollment(on all levels, form primary levels to college and universities) is
not necessarily an expression of the quality of the education. However, for some indicators,
quality is equally important to quantity from a sustainability viewpoint. For such indicators,
quantitative indicators have limited informative value and serve as a proxy.
While explanatory power of quantitative indicators is limited, conducting a qualitative
evaluation of the 69 indicators used on the global level would go far beyond the limitations of
this index. For indicators with a potentially low correlation between quantity and quality, the
weighting has been adjusted accordingly.
Timeliness of data
Data for 2011 is not yet available for most indicators from the databases used for this index.
Most data used for this index date from 2010. Where 2010 data was not available, 2009 data,
and in some cases, 2008 data has been used.
Availability of data
For some indicators data is not available for all countries (in particular for the less or least
developed economies). If the lack of data would be scored as “zero”, the final score for
those countries would be negatively affected. In order to present a balanced overall picture,
the missing data from those countries has been extrapolated based on regional averages,
income and development levels, as well as geography and climate.
The Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index
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