UAE secures 7th spot in IMD Global Competitiveness Report 2024, only GCC nation in Top 10

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid recently took to X to note that the Emirates, under the leadership of President HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and through the dedicated efforts of its people, continues to achieve higher ranks across global competitiveness indicators.

The Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai said that in one of the most important global competitiveness reports issued by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, the UAE climbed three places, reaching 7th spot globally.

The UAE is among top 10 countries across the globe in more than 90 key and sub-indicators in the 2024 Global Competitiveness Report. “Our thanks and appreciation go to all the teams in the government, economic and development sectors who work with one spirit.”

2024 Global Competitiveness Report rankings

1. Singapore

2. Switzerland

3. Denmark

4. Ireland

5. Hong Kong SAR

6. Sweden

7. United Arab Emirates

8. Taiwan

9. Netherlands

10. Norway

11. Qatar

16. Saudi Arabia

21. Bahrain

37. Kuwait

UAE’s position in Global Competitiveness Report

Building on last year’s achievement of entering the top 10 in the annual Global Competitiveness Report, the UAE made a notable leap in 2024, advancing three positions to 7th place globally, ahead of Norway, Iceland, Japan, Canada and Finland.

Besides UAE’s position out of 67 countries, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait achieved 11th, 16th, 21st and 37th spots, respectively. The UAE ranked 2nd globally in Economic Performance, 4th in Government Efficiency and 10th in Business Efficiency.

The Global Competitiveness Report classifies countries based on 4 main pillars and 20 sub-pillars encompassing 336 competitive indicators across different economic, administrative and social fields, including government efficiency and innovation.

The IMD report is a comprehensive annual report and a global benchmark on the competitiveness of countries. It offers reliable insights into trends, benchmarking and a wealth of statistics and survey data derived through extensive research.

UAE performing better in key competitive indicators

This year, the Emirates performed better in all four main pillars. It ranked among the top 10 globally in more than 90 key and sub-indicators. The nation ranked first among 67 countries in 11 indicators including industrial disputes, labour force (%) and employment (%).

The report also noted the UAE securing second place globally in 9 indicators, such as tourism receipts, absence of bureaucracy and females in Parliament. The Gulf state ranked third in 6 indicators, including immigration regulations and collected capital and property taxes.

In 12 different indicators such as consumer price inflation, labour regulation and overall productivity (ppp), the UAE achieved fourth place and secured 5th place in 13 indicators such as GDP (PPP) per capita, unemployment legislation and tax evasion.