The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s flag
Saudi Arabia climbed four places to rank 13th globally in the 2026 World Competitiveness Yearbook published by the IMD Competitiveness Center. 
The improvement was driven by stronger performance across all four main pillars of the report — economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure — as well as gains in 15 of the report’s 20 sub-factors. The Kingdom ranked third among G20 countries.
Saudi Arabia’s ranking improved from 17th in 2025 to 13th in 2026, continuing a broader upward trend from 24th in 2022, 17th in 2023 and 16th in 2024.
Saudi Arabia Ranking since 2022
Year
Ranking
2022
24
2023
17
2024
16
2025
17
2026
13
Development in the four main pillars (2026):
Business efficiency: The Kingdom made great progress by entering the top 10 list, ranking 9th globally, after being ranked 12th in the previous year.
Saudi Arabia’s Business Efficiency Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
16
2023
13
2024
12
2025
12
2026
9
Economic performance: The Kingdom jumped to 12th place globally, making progress from 17th place in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Economic Performance Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
31
2023
6
2024
15
2025
17
2026
12
Government efficiency: The Kingdom’s ranking improved to reach 12th globally, up from 17th in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Government Efficiency Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
19
2023
11
2024
12
2025
17
2026
12
Infrastructure: Improvement continued in this area, with the Kingdom reaching 28th place globally, after having been ranked 31st in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Infrastructure Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
34
2023
34
2024
34
2025
31
2026
28
Saudi Arabia Ranking by Sub-Factor
Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness profile was underpinned by strong performance in infrastructure, which ranked 3rd globally, as well as business attitudes and values in 4th place and the labor market in 6th.
Saudi Arabia Ranking by Sub-Factor
Sub-Factor
Rank
Infrastructure
3
Attitudes and Values
4
Labor Market
6
Domestic Economy
9
Management Practices
9
Business Legislation
9
Tax Policy
10
Public Finance
11
Productivity and Efficiency
13
Prices
16
Finance
17
International Investment
18
International Trade
20
Employment
22
Institutional Framework
28
Technological Infrastructure
29
Scientific Infrastructure
29
Education
37
Societal Framework
42
Health and Environment
43
Globally, Singapore topped the competitiveness rankings after climbing one place, followed by Hong Kong in 2nd and Switzerland in 3rd after slipping two positions.
Global Competitiveness Rankings
Country
Rank
Change
Singapore
1
+1
Hong Kong
2
+1
Switzerland
3
(2)
Taiwan
4
+2
UAE
5
—
Denmark
6
(2)
Ireland
7
—
Netherlands
8
+2
Sweden
9
(1)
United States
10
+3
Qatar
11
(2)
China
12
+4
Saudi Arabia
13
+4
Luxembourg
14
+6
Malaysia
15
+8
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s flag
Saudi Arabia climbed four places to rank 13th globally in the 2026 World Competitiveness Yearbook published by the IMD Competitiveness Center.
The improvement was driven by stronger performance across all four main pillars of the report — economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure — as well as gains in 15 of the report’s 20 sub-factors. The Kingdom ranked third among G20 countries.
Saudi Arabia’s ranking improved from 17th in 2025 to 13th in 2026, continuing a broader upward trend from 24th in 2022, 17th in 2023 and 16th in 2024.
Saudi Arabia Ranking since 2022
Year
Ranking
2022
24
2023
17
2024
16
2025
17
2026
13
Development in the four main pillars (2026):
Business efficiency: The Kingdom made great progress by entering the top 10 list, ranking 9th globally, after being ranked 12th in the previous year.
Saudi Arabia’s Business Efficiency Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
16
2023
13
2024
12
2025
12
2026
9
Economic performance: The Kingdom jumped to 12th place globally, making progress from 17th place in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Economic Performance Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
31
2023
6
2024
15
2025
17
2026
12
Government efficiency: The Kingdom’s ranking improved to reach 12th globally, up from 17th in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Government Efficiency Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
19
2023
11
2024
12
2025
17
2026
12
Infrastructure: Improvement continued in this area, with the Kingdom reaching 28th place globally, after having been ranked 31st in 2025.
Saudi Arabia’s Infrastructure Ranking
Year
Ranking
2022
34
2023
34
2024
34
2025
31
2026
28
Saudi Arabia Ranking by Sub-Factor
Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness profile was underpinned by strong performance in infrastructure, which ranked 3rd globally, as well as business attitudes and values in 4th place and the labor market in 6th.
Saudi Arabia Ranking by Sub-Factor
Sub-Factor
Rank
Infrastructure
3
Attitudes and Values
4
Labor Market
6
Domestic Economy
9
Management Practices
9
Business Legislation
9
Tax Policy
10
Public Finance
11
Productivity and Efficiency
13
Prices
16
Finance
17
International Investment
18
International Trade
20
Employment
22
Institutional Framework
28
Technological Infrastructure
29
Scientific Infrastructure
29
Education
37
Societal Framework
42
Health and Environment
43
Globally, Singapore topped the competitiveness rankings after climbing one place, followed by Hong Kong in 2nd and Switzerland in 3rd after slipping two positions.
Global Competitiveness Rankings
Country
Rank
Change
Singapore
1
+1
Hong Kong
2
+1
Switzerland
3
(2)
Taiwan
4
+2
UAE
5
—
Denmark
6
(2)
Ireland
7
—
Netherlands
8
+2
Sweden
9
(1)
United States
10
+3
Qatar
11
(2)
China
12
+4
Saudi Arabia
13
+4
Luxembourg
14
+6
Malaysia
15
+8
