Competitiveness: These are the top performers

The IMD World Competitiveness Center, a research center at the IMD Business School in Switzerland, has published an annual ranking of the most competitive countries since 1989, based on 260 indicators. This year, 63 countries were listed, including Cyprus and Saudi Arabia for the first time.

Hong Kong consolidated its strong position in this competitiveness ranking, topping the list for the second year in a row. Switzerland and Singapore landed in second and third place respectively. By contrast, the USA slipped from third place last year to fourth, its worst ranking in the last five years. The Netherlands jumped from eighth to fifth place compared with the previous year.

Among the countries that improved the most, indicators related to business and government efficiency and productivity stood out, said Professor Arturo Bris, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center. "These countries have maintained a business-friendly environment that encourages openness and productivity," Bris explained. "China, for example, rose from 18th place and made up seven places. This can be attributed to its commitment to international trade, further boosting the economy and improving business and government efficiency." Meanwhile, the bottom ranks are held by countries experiencing political and economic upheaval.

What about digital competitiveness?

For the first time, the IMD World Competitiveness Center published a separate report this year and created a ranking based on countries' digital competitiveness. The Digital Competitiveness Ranking aims to assess countries' ability to use and explore digital technologies that bring about changes in governance, business models and society in general.

Here, Singapore leads the way, followed by Sweden, the U.S., Finland and Denmark. "It is clear that a supportive and inclusive approach by government agencies drives technological innovation," Bris said. "In Singapore and Sweden, regulation has been developed that focuses on available expertise: for example, regulation has been introduced thanks to which foreign professionals can supplement the pool available domestically. The U.S. tends to focus on strengthening research and generating new ideas, but historically the country's government has always championed technological innovation. This shows that in countries that are competitive in digital, the government encourages the adoption of new technologies."

The detailed ranking:

Source: www.imd.org