Saudi Arabia advances to 16th place in World Competitiveness 2024

Saudi Arabia advanced to the 16th place in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2024, issued by the World Competitiveness Center of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

According to the report, the Kingdom ranked fourth among the G20 countries, supported by improved business legislation and infrastructure.

Thus, the Kingdom achieved an advanced position for the third straight year, compared with the 17th in 2023 and 24th in 2022.

In business efficiency, Saudi Arabia advanced from the 13th rank to the 12th, while it maintained its previous 34th place in infrastructure. In addition, the Kingdom remained among the top 20 countries in economic performance and government efficiency.

Majid Al-Kassabi, Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the National Competitiveness Center, said the positive results achieved by the Kingdom in the IMD and other global reports reflect the economic transformation adopted by the government in accordance with the directives of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The economic reforms helped the Kingdom secure the top three ranks in 24 indicators. It came first in the long-term employment growth, social cohesion, long-term labor market growth, understanding the need for economic and social reforms, cybersecurity, and the number of Internet users per thousand population. Meanwhile, it ranked second in digital transformation in companies, market capitalization of stock market, availability of venture capital, development and application of technology, and availability of financing for technical development. Additionally, the country came third in trade exchange, economy’s ability to withstand, government’s ability to adapt to economic changes, unemployment legislation, and total entrepreneurial activity in initial stages.

The World Competitiveness Yearbook report, issued by the Swiss-based IMD, is one of the most important references for international organizations, as it compares the most competitive 67 countries globally in terms of four main indicators and 335 sub-indicators.