Switzerland among best placed to recover from Covid crisis

Switzerland ranks well on flexible working and good digital connections that allow people to work from home. Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

Switzerland is among the countries best equipped to withstand the effects of the global pandemic, although no nation has emerged unscathed, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

The Alpine country does well on several of the indicators used in a WEF report released Wednesday in Geneva. Replacing its usual annual Global Competitiveness Index, the WEF report on “how countries are performing on the road to recovery” looks at “how economies should think about revival and transformation as they recover and redesign their economic systems to enhance human development and compatibility with the environment”. 

Switzerland comes third out of 40 countries on the quality of public institutions and on labour policies and social protection that can help it to face new challenges. It is also among those best prepared for a digital economy that facilitates telework, according to the report, which is based on a survey of business leaders. 

Another plus factor, according to the WEF, is that Switzerland has succeeded in planning and activating health, fiscal and social policies that have helped to better mitigate the effects of the crisis. 

Meanwhile, a separate report by the mobile analytics company Opensignal puts Switzerland in the top ten countries for the quality of group video calls, which it says have become invaluable during the coronavirus crisis. Switzerland comes in ninth out of 75 countries, according to this report. Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea share first spot*. Algeria comes in last out of the countries covered. 

* Correction: the original version of this article stated that Japan was awarded first spot, followed by the Netherlands and South Korea.