Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia advanced four places to rank 13th globally among 70 economies in the 2026 World Competitiveness Yearbook issued by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), compared with 17th in 2025.

The Kingdom has improved its global competitiveness ranking steadily in recent years, rising from 24th in 2022 to 13th in 2026, an 11-place gain over four years.

Saudi Arabia improved across the four main competitiveness factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.

Business efficiency recorded a notable improvement, with Saudi Arabia ranking ninth globally in 2026, up from 12th in 2025 and placing the Kingdom among the world’s top 10 economies in this factor for the first time.

The Kingdom also climbed to 12th globally in economic performance, compared with 17th in 2025, while its government efficiency ranking rose to 12th from 17th.

At the sub-factor level, Saudi Arabia ranked sixth globally in the labor market, ninth in Business legislation, ninth in management practices, 13th in productivity and efficiency, and 17th in finance.

The report also identified areas requiring further development, particularly indicators related to the societal framework, health and environment, and education and scientific infrastructure.

The IMD ranking combines economic data with executive opinion surveys and assesses 70 economies across economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.