Denmark Tops World Competitiveness Ranking; Switzerland Still Leads Over Time
Denmark Tops World
Competitiveness Ranking; Switzerland Still Leads Over Time
Sandkaj Harbour bath is an official bathing zone in the
new Nordhavn quarter of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Photo by Daniel Rasmussen courtesy of Visit
Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark, was named the 2023 World Capital of
Architecture by UNESCO and the International Union of
Architects in recognition of its strong legacy of innovative
urban development, sustainability and livability.
In June, the nation Copenhagen has been part of for nearly
1,200 years added another honor: The No. 1 most competitive
nation among 64 economies, according to the 35th edition of
the IMD World
Competitiveness Ranking, published by the World
Competitiveness Center at the International Institute for
Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Upstart Ireland was No. 2, vaulting all the way from No. 11
last year. IMD’s home country of Switzerland was No. 3,
followed by Singapore in fourth place.
The annual ranking is based on 336 competitiveness
criteria selected as a result of “comprehensive
research using economic literature, international, national,
and regional sources, and feedback from the business
community, government agencies, and academics,” says IMD.
“The criteria are revised and updated regularly as new
theories, research, and data become available and as the
global economy evolves.” There are 164 hard-data criteria
and 92 survey questions answered by 6,400 senior executives,
with the hard data comprising two-thirds of the overall
results.
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Major projects in Denmark documented by Site Selection’s
Conway Projects Database since this time last year include a
$2.3 billion investment in Hillerød announced by Novo
Nordisk in June; a $133 million project from Palsgaard in
Juelsminde; and a 40-job expansion in Koge by Bedrocan
International.
Repeating the 2022 results, five economies in Europe made the
Top 10 on IMD’s scoreboard. Apart from being smaller, the
most competitive economies also tend to have strong and
efficient institutions, IMD said. “A country’s ability to
generate prosperity for its people is a key determiner of
success,” said Professor Arturo Bris, director of the WCC,
in a release. “It’s not what China does yet and it’s not
what the U.S. even does fully yet.”
“Navigating today’s unpredictable environment requires
agility and adaptability,” added Christos Cabolis, the WCC’s
chief economist. “Countries which excel are building
resilient economies, such as Ireland, Iceland, and Bahrain.
Their governments are also able to adapt policies based on
current economic conditions in a timely fashion. The UAE,
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Singapore are also key examples of
this.”
Their country may be the most
competitive, but cyclists in bicycle-mad
Denmark by and large simply want to get
from here to there.
How have countries performed over time?
Steady improvers over the past five years include No. 12
Qatar, No. 13 Belgium (up from No. 27 in 2019) and No. 17
Saudi Arabia (up from No. 26 in 2019). The biggest jump,
however, has been made by the Czech Republic, which has
climbed to No. 18 from No. 33 in 2019. Meanwhile, Kuwait
joined the ranking for the first time at No. 38 among the 64
economies, which are chosen based on the availability of
comparable international statistics and IMD’s collaboration
with local Partner Institutes that contribute to the
collection of survey data.
We averaged the rankings over the past five years to come up
with this chart, topped by Switzerland, Singapore and
Denmark.
Top Countries by Average World Competitiveness Rank,
2019-2023
Country
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Rank
Average
Switzerland
4
3
1
2
3
2.6
Singapore
1
1
5
3
4
2.8
Denmark
8
2
3
1
1
3
Netherlands
6
4
4
6
5
5
Hong Kong SAR
2
5
7
5
7
5.2
Sweden
9
6
2
4
8
5.8
USA
3
10
10
10
9
8.4
Ireland
7
12
13
11
2
9
UAE
5
9
9
12
10
9
Norway
11
7
6
9
14
9.4
IMD’s World
Competitiveness Center offers a plethora of
resources for country, city and company research, including
links to a recent ranking of smart cities. The research is
part of a broader treasure trove of work that includes IMD’s
China Company Competitiveness Indicator, which is currently focused on
food companies. — Adam Bruns and Daniel
Boyer
Zurich is the business engine of
Switzerland, which holds the highest
average rank in the IMD World
Competitiveness Ranking over the past
five years.
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