The UAE has been ranked third among the world's nations most prepared for change in the latest Change Readiness Index 2017 compiled by top audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG. The first spot was notched by Switzerland.

The Change Readiness Index 2017 indicates the capability of a country to anticipate, prepare for and manage and respond to a wide range of change drivers, proactively cultivating the resulting opportunities and mitigating potential negative impact.

This global ranking for UAE proves its full-fledged dynamic readiness for the increasing pace of change worldwide, said the statement from KPMG.

The index, which ranks 136 countries around the world, saw the UAE climbing two spots from the 2015 edition, topping the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and clinching the third spot globally, thus reflecting the sincere efforts being made to secure an advanced ranking among the best nations all over the world by 2021.

The country also topped the charts for enterprise capability, while it claimed the second-highest rating for government capability, according to the audit expert.

The highest-ranked countries (with change in ranking from 2015):

Switzerland (+1)
Sweden (+7)
United Arab Emirates (+2)
Singapore (-3)
Denmark (+3)
New Zealand (+0)
Netherlands (+4)
Finland (+2)
Germany (+3)
United Kingdom (+3)
Norway (-7)
United States (+8)
Hong Kong (-10)
Australia (+2)
Ireland (--)*
Austria (+1)
Canada (-3)
Belgium (+0)
Qatar (-12)
France (+6)

European countries captured seven of the top 10 places in the 2017 CRI, demonstrating strong capacity to handle the region's challenges, according to KPMG.

Switzerland took the number-one ranking for the first time, replacing Singapore, which had claimed the top ranking in the 2013 and 2015 CRIs.

The UK entered the top 10 for the first time, strengthening its change readiness at an especially critical time as the country prepares for Brexit.

The US also significantly improved its ranking since the previous CRI, rising eight places to 12th from 20th in 2015.

In 2017, every top-ten country, with the exception of Singapore, increased its government and people & civil society capability scores over 2015. Just four of the top 20 ranked countries saw a decline in people & civil society scores, whereas 25 of the bottom 30 countries in the rankings declined in this capability.

According to KPMG, migration is a significant driver of change for many countries.

Those that are most change ready have a better capacity to meet the challenges and potentially benefit from increasing migration. It is not a coincidence that countries with high CRI scores–including Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK–have greater shares of migrant population.

"These countries have the combination of social services, safety nets, education and economic opportunity needed to host and integrate migrant populations," said Timothy Stiles.

"Ultimately, they have the potential to use migration to their advantage in growing their economies and providing a net gain to society," he added.

Vikas Papriwal, a partner and head of markets at KPMG, said the CRI provides deep insights into where countries can focus and invest to be prepared for the increasing pace of change worldwide.

The 2017 index indicated that countries dependent on natural resources and export incomes faced set-backs. However, the UAE and Norway broke the pattern and displayed strong performance in the CRI.

The study also provides sub-indicator rankings for each country. For the UAE, government strategic planning and horizon scanning, demographics, and security were identified as strengths while enterprise sustainability, technology use and health were the opportunities.-TradeArabia News Service