Saudi Arabia has advanced four positions in the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, ranking 13th globally among 70 economies and securing 3rd place among G20 economies.
The yearbook, published by the International Institute for Management Development, is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading benchmarks for assessing national competitiveness.
It is closely monitored by the Saudi Competitiveness and Business Center in coordination with relevant government entities, reflecting its importance as a reference point for evaluating economic performance and business environment competitiveness across countries.
The Saudi Arabia’s progress was driven by improvements across all four competitiveness factors: Economic Performance, Government Efficiency, Business Efficiency, and Infrastructure. Saudi Arabia also improved its performance in 15 of the 20 sub-factors assessed by the yearbook.
Commenting on the results, Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Competitiveness and Business Center Majid Al-Kassabi stated that the Saudi Arabia continued advancement in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook and other leading international benchmarks reflects the commitment of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, particularly those related to economic growth, competitiveness, and sustainable development.
According to IMD, the Kingdom’s improved performance reflects strong progress across the four competitiveness factors, supported by notable gains in several sub-factors, particularly International Trade, Employment, and Business Legislation.
The Kingdom’s latest achievement reflects the ongoing efforts of the Saudi Competitiveness and Business Center, working closely with government partners to enhance national competitiveness. These efforts include monitoring and updating national data in coordination with the General Authority for Statistics and other stakeholders, implementing more than 1,000 legislative, procedural, and technical reforms, addressing private-sector challenges, and raising awareness of government reforms and initiatives.
Published annually by IMD, the World Competitiveness Yearbook is one of the world’s most respected competitiveness benchmarks, assessing and comparing the performance of 70 economies across a comprehensive set of competitiveness criteria.
