Singapore regains top spot in competitiveness ranking; Asian economies put up strong showing
Hong Kong came in second and Taiwan was fourth in IMD’s World Competitiveness Rankings this year.
People visit the Merlion statue on the Marina Bay waterfront in Singapore on May 5, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
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SINGAPORE: Singapore climbed back to the top of IMD’s World Competitiveness Rankings this year, after slipping to second in 2025.
Released on Thursday (Jun 18), the rankings evaluated 70 economies for competitiveness, looking at four key areas – economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.
This year’s results found that strong institutions and the ability to navigate volatility and absorb shocks are critical to economic success as geopolitical tensions rise, said IMD.
“Competitiveness in 2026 is no longer primarily a contest of cost, scale, or even of innovation, but one of institutional credibility,” it said in a media release.
“The more fragmented the world becomes, the more valuable are predictable rules, enforceable commitments, and legitimate state capacity.”
With geopolitical conditions worsening and global fragmentation increasing, nations with credible institutions gain the upper hand, said Arturo Bris, director of the World Competitiveness Center.
According to IMD, Singapore’s return to first place highlighted how quickly agile economies could regain momentum.
It credited Singapore’s performance to a broad recovery across several areas of competitiveness, particularly business efficiency, which it topped among the 70 economies.
Singapore ranked eighth in that criterion in 2025.
It remained at third for government efficiency but rose to fifth for infrastructure. However, its economic performance dropped from first in 2025 to third this year.
OTHER ASIAN ECONOMIES
This year’s rankings also saw strong performances by other Asian economies, with Hong Kong, Taiwan and China all moving up the ladder.
Hong Kong rose from third to second, a result IMD said was built on three consecutive years of improvement.
“Government efficiency remains its defining competitive strength, keeping second place for the second consecutive year,” said the organisation.
Taiwan came in fourth, behind Switzerland, on the back of a strong gross domestic product and export growth. These reflect improvements or stability in all four competitive factors, said IMD.
IMD also attributed China’s climb from 16th to 12th to a sharp improvement in business efficiency, which was helped by gains in productivity and efficiency, finance and the labour market.
“Government efficiency also edged up, rising one place on stronger business legislation and tax policies,” it added. Its economic performance meanwhile fell two places to seventh, led by a decline in international trade.
