DUBAI, 20th June, 2023 (WAM) — His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said that the UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and with the outstanding efforts of the Emirati people, has become a global leader in various fields and has achieved high ranks in international competitiveness indexes.
His Highness expressed his pride and joy as the UAE entered the top ten in the list of most competitive countries in the world, according to the World Competitiveness Ranking 2023 published by the World Competitiveness Centre of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“The UAE has shown its excellence in various fields, such as international trade, city management, energy infrastructure, the Adaptability of government policy to changes in the economy, lack of bureaucracy, and other areas. It is ranked fourth in the world for its remarkable economic performance,” His Highness Sheikh Mohammed said.
He also congratulated President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, and thanked the thousands of teams who work hard day and night, and commended the people of the UAE for their efforts, sincerity, dedication and support for their leadership, stressing they deserve to be among the best in the world. “The future will be even better,” he added.
In the IMD’s World Competitiveness Ranking 2023, the UAE ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa region for the seventh consecutive year and reached the tenth position worldwide, climbing two spots from last year.
Globally, Denmark ranked first, followed by Ireland in second place, and Switzerland in third place.
The UAE is the world leader in government efficiency, with the lowest personal tax rates, the most adaptable policies and the least bureaucracy. It also has flexible residency laws, low tax evasion rates, and affordable capital and consumption taxes. It ranks among the top five countries in these indicators.
Moreover, the country achieved outstanding performances in the report’s main pillars, advancing in the economic performance pillar from sixth to fourth place globally. In the business efficiency pillar, the UAE advanced to 16th place globally.
The UAE also ranked among the top ten countries in eight sub-indicators, including first in global trade, second in infrastructure, fourth in local economy and tax policy, sixth in employment and labour market, eighth in attitudes and values, and ninth in commercial legislation.
In the economic performance pillar, the country ranked first globally in the “Gross Fixed Capital Formation – Actual % Growth Index.” It is also ranked within the top five in indicators, including employment rate and goods exports, as well as second in tourism revenues, fourth in trade-to-GDP ratio, and fifth in the unemployment rate.
The country excelled in the business efficiency pillars, reaching the top five worldwide in indicators such as participation rate of the labour force and foreign labour force, as well as second in attitudes towards globalisation and availability of skilled foreign workers and third in international image of the country, and fourth in national culture and senior managers.
The UAE also topped the world in the infrastructure pillar, in indicators such as low dependency ratio, inbound mobility of higher education students, city management, internet users, air transport quality and energy infrastructure.
The country was also among the top five globally in the infrastructure indicator for the distribution of goods and services, ranking in fifth place.
The World Competitiveness Yearbook is a yearly report published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) based in Switzerland. It assesses the competitiveness of national economies on 4 main Competitiveness Factors, 20 sub-factors, and 330 sub-indicators.