Saudi Arabia continues its upward ascent in the global competitiveness rankings in the just-released World Competitiveness Yearbook 2022, published by Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Saudi Arabia is ranked as the 24th most competitive economy among the 63 countries covered by the benchmark, up eight positions from a year earlier. Among its G20 peers, the Kingdom is ranked as the 7th most competitive economy, ahead of countries such as South Korea, France, Japan, Italy, India, Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, and Turkey. Saudi Arabia made progress in all the four main competitiveness factors assessed by the report: from 48th to 31st position in economic performance; from 24th to 19th in government efficiency; from 26th to 16th in business efficiency; and from 36th to 34th in infrastructure. Saudi Arabia is also ranked among the top 10 countries in the world on many sub-indicators, most notably: adaptability of government policy; digital transformation in companies; employment-long-term growth; public finances; total general government debt; social cohesion; stock market capitalization; gross fixed capital formation; energy infrastructure; electricity costs for industrial clients; cyber security; total public expenditure on education; digital/technological skills; total early-stage entrepreneurial activity; and national culture. Reacting to Saudi Arabia's positive performance, Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Competitiveness Center Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, said: "Our positive performance in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2022 and other similar reputable global benchmarks reflects our robust economic performance. Our standing is the result of Vision 2030's efficient and effective whole-of-government approach to reform that has enhanced the Kingdom's global competitiveness." He added: "The resiliency of the Saudi economy and its speed of recovery from the pandemic have contributed to making the Kingdom one of the fastest-growing countries in the world." The World Competitiveness Yearbook is a yearly report published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) based in Switzerland. It assesses the competitiveness of national economies based on four main competitiveness factors, 20 sub-factors and more than 330 sub-indicators. — SPA
