His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stated that the UAE under the leadership of 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.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “In one of the most important global competitiveness reports issued by the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, the UAE moved up three places, reaching the seventh place globally. The UAE is also among the top ten globally in more than 90 key and sub-indicators in the 2024 World Competitiveness Report.”
His Highness 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.”
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, ahead of Norway, Iceland, Japan, Canada and Finland.
The UAE performed exceptionally across various pillars of the report, ranking 2nd globally in Economic Performance, 4th in Government Efficiency, 10th in Business Efficiency.
His Excellency Mohammed 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 His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE 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.”
Commenting on the results, H.E. 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 1st globally in 11 indicators including: Industrial disputes, Labor force (%), Employment (%), Household consumption expenditure- real growth.
The UAE secured 2nd place globally in 9 indicators: Tourism receipts, Females in parliament, Labor force growth, adaptably of government policy, Absence of Bureaucracy.
The UAE ranked 3rd globally in 6 indicators including: Collected capital and property taxes, Immigration laws, Management of cities and percentage of government budget surplus.
The UAE also achieved 4th place in 12 indicators including: Consumer price inflation, Long-term unemployment, International experience, Overall productivity (PPP), labor regulation, Balance of commercial services and Employment in the public sector.
The UAE also achieved 5th 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.
The IMD World Competitiveness report, first published in 1989, 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 analyzes and ranks countries based on their ability to manage competencies for sustainable long-term value creation.
