The UAE has moved up three places, reaching seventh place globally in the global competitiveness report issued by the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland.
Building on last year's achievement of entering the top 10, the UAE made a notable leap in the 2024 World Competitiveness report, advancing three positions to 7th place worldwide.
Singapore is placed 1st on the list, Switzerland 2nd, Denmark 3rd, Ireland 4th, Hong Kong 5th and Sweden 6th. Taiwan took the 8th position, while the Netherlands is in 9th and Norway 10th. Qatar took the 11 place on the list, moving one poistion up compared to last year. Saudi Arabia is place 16th and Bahrain 21st on the list.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, stated that the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and through the dedicated efforts of its people, continues to improve its standing each year, achieving higher ranks across various global competitiveness indicators, said a Wam news agency report.
Sheikh Mohammed said: "The UAE is also among the top ten globally in more than 90 key and sub-indicators in the 2024 World Competitiveness Report."
He said: "Our thanks and appreciation go to all the teams in the government, economic, and development sectors who work with one spirit to achieve a single goal: the progress of the United Arab Emirates."
The UAE performed exceptionally across various pillars of the report, ranking second globally in Economic Performance, forth in Government Efficiency, 10th in Business Efficiency.
Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, stated: "The UAE's continuous presence at the forefront of this significant report reflects its status as one of the world's most competitive economies. The exceptional vision and wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, have made the UAE a pioneering developmental model adaptable to ongoing global changes. This demonstrates the efficiency of the UAE government system, the flexibility of its business environment, and the readiness of its infrastructure."
Hanan Mansour Ahli, Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, praised the integration and governance of real-time data and statistics exchange between federal and local entities. Ahli said, "This achievement is due to dedicated teams committed to implementing the vision and directives of the government of the future, reinforcing the UAE's leadership. These results reflect the solid principles of the competitiveness culture in the UAE.”
Top Rankings in Key Indicators
The World Competitiveness Report classifies the countries based on four main pillars and 20 sub-pillars encompassing 336 competitive indicators across various economic, administrative, and social fields, including government efficiency, education, and innovation. In this year's report, the UAE advanced in all four main pillars.
The UAE ranked among the top 10 globally in over 90 key and sub-indicators. The UAE ranked first globally in 11 indicators including industrial disputes, labour force (%), employment (%), and household consumption expenditure- real growth.
The UAE secured second place globally in 9 indicators, including tourism receipts, females in parliament, labour force growth, adaptably of government policy, and absence of bureaucracy.
The UAE ranked third globally in 6 indicators including collected capital and property taxes, immigration laws, management of cities and percentage of government budget surplus.
The country also achieved fourth place in 12 indicators including consumer price inflation, long-term unemployment, international experience, overall productivity (ppp), labour regulation, and the balance of commercial services and employment in the public sector.
The UAE achieved fifth place in 13 indicators including GDP (PPP) per capita, quality of air transportation, energy infrastructure, graduates in sciences, start-up procedures, unemployment legislation, foreign highly-skilled personnel, national culture, unemployment rate and tax evasion.
First published in 1989, the IMD World Competitiveness report is a comprehensive annual report and a global benchmark on the competitiveness of countries. It offers insights into trends, benchmarking, and a wealth of statistics and survey data derived from extensive research. The report analyses and ranks countries based on their ability to manage competencies for sustainable long-term value creation.
