Qatar’s rank rose from 18th place to 12th place in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2023 – which is published annually by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland – out of (64) countries, most of which are high developed.

The ranking was based on national statistics provided to IMD as well as the result of surveying a sample businessmen and entrepreneurs who provided their views of Qatar’s economy competitive climate.

Areas, where Qatar ranked highly in the report, included economic performance (ranked 5), government efficiency (ranked 4), business efficiency (ranked 12), and improved its rank in infrastructure (ranked 33).

Qatar’s rank has been positively influenced by many factors including strong economic performance as represented by Qatar’s low unemployment rate, youth employment, population growth, collected personal income tax, consumption tax rate, and cyber security in which the State of Qatar ranked first in the world, while it ranked second globally in trade index, government budget surplus/deficit (%) and digital transformation of companies, need for social and economic reforms, public-private partnerships and qualified engineers, and ranked third in healthcare infrastructure, current account balance, corporate tax rate on profit, collected total tax revenues, adaptability of government policy to economic changes, government subsidies, central bank policy, banking and finance services, quality of air transport, the use of big data and analytics, environmental laws do not hinder business competitiveness, and electricity costs for industrial customers.

Qatar’s competitiveness in IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2023 is a collaborative effort between the International Institute for Management Development and the Planning and Statistics Authority. Qatar has contributed to the IMD Competitiveness Yearbook for the 15th time.

President of Planning and Statistics Authority HE Dr Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit welcomed the findings of the report.

Al Nabit said, “The country’s leadership focus has been on Qatar National Vision 2030 which acts as a comprehensive roadmap for social, human, economic and environmental development. National development strategies of the State of Qatar including Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy – which is expected to be launched before end of the year – have been a major drive in advancing the country’s economic growth and enhancing its competitiveness by investing in modernizing and expanding its infrastructure, improving education and healthcare systems, and diversifying its economy by investing in multiple sectors such as finance, logistics and tourism.”