The Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) released its 2024 World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) results this Tuesday, placing Taiwan 8th out of the 67 ranked countries. Among the countries with populations of 20 million or more, Taiwan has ranked first for the past four consecutive years.
While Taiwan has seen a drop of two places in the ranking compared to last year’s edition, Taiwan’s economic competitiveness still ranks above the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea, none of which are in the top 10. The top 10 are, in order, Singapore, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, Hong Kong, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Norway.
The WCR is based on 336 competitiveness criteria and searches beyond just the nation’s gross domestic product by looking at four main factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
Taiwan’s National Development Council (NDC) states that the WCR can be regarded as an overall inspection of a nation’s economic and social system. They say they believe the drop in ranking is due to global inflation-induced weak final demand. The NDC says the government will review the results with an open mind and continue to develop relevant policies.
The NDC says it is committed to implementing President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) National Project of Hope which aims to develop five industry sectors including semiconductors, AI, military, security and surveillance, and next-generation communications. The NDC says this will drive steady economic growth and strengthen Taiwan’s global competitiveness.