Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Switzerland remains in the top three of the world’s most competitive countries. In the latest IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, Switzerland has fallen one place in comparison with 2022 but is still ranked third overall. Switzerland remains in the top spot for government efficiency and infrastructure and has improved its economic performance.
According to IMD analysts, Switzerland is the world’s third most-competitive country (© Pixabay).
“Small” economies
Denmark maintained its grip on first place from last year when it enjoyed a momentous inaugural rise to the top, Ireland made a remarkable leap from 11th to take second place, and Switzerland held its nerve in third, after dropping from second place in 2022 and first place in 2021. All three are small economies that make good use of their access to markets and trading partners – as does Singapore, which came in fourth.
Commenting on the results, Professor Arturo Bris, Director of the World Competitive Center at the Swiss business school IMD, said, “An increasing number of countries are pursuing their interests. We are seeing winners and losers in a context in which multiple crises are overlapping and the world is increasingly divided between protectionist and open-trade economies.”
Europe excelled in the ranking, as in 2022, with five economies in the top 10. Apart from being smaller, the most competitive economies also tend to have strong and efficient institutions. “A country’s ability to generate prosperity for its people is a key determiner of success,” Bris explained.
In the top 3
Denmark’s top position is based on its continuous achievements across all four competitiveness factors measured. It remains first in business efficiency and second in infrastructure. Another factor measured in the ranking is economic performance. Ireland’s sharp rise past Switzerland is largely the result of its stellar performance in this factor, where it rose from seventh to first.
Switzerland retains third place thanks to its strong performance across all competitiveness factors measured. For the criteria of government efficiency and infrastructure, Switzerland still ranks first. In terms of business efficiency, however, Switzerland has dropped from fourth to seventh place, although it has recorded a huge improvement in economic performance from 30th to 18th place.
Pandemic aftermath
In the top 10, Singapore dropped one position to fourth, the Netherlands moved up one place to fifth (from sixth), Taiwan, China gained one spot (up to sixth from seventh), and Hong Kong SAR fell to seventh (from fifth). The USA improved one place to ninth, and the UAE went up two places to take tenth. Japan declined one position and was ranked 35th out of 64 economies. Among Asian countries, it was number 11. The full list is here.
The ranking is based on a mixture of hard data – 164 competitiveness criteria selected as a result of comprehensive research using economic literature, international, national, and regional sources, plus feedback from the business community, government agencies, and academics – and 92 survey questions answered by 6,400 senior executives. Hard data accounts for two-thirds of the overall ranking results, whereas the survey data represents one-third.
Text: IMD (Editing by SCCIJ)
