UAE Achieves First Place Globally In 223 Competitiveness Indicators For 2024

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has continued its impressive rise in global competitiveness rankings for 2024. This success is attributed to strategic leadership and a focus on human development as a core goal. The UAE achieved first place globally in 223 indicators, up from 215 in 2023. It also ranked among the top five in 444 indicators, compared to 406 the previous year.

In the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024, the UAE advanced three spots to seventh globally. This follows its entry into the top 10 countries last year. The UAE excelled across all dimensions of the report, securing second place in economic performance, fourth in government efficiency, and tenth in business environment efficiency.

The UAE's achievements reflect ongoing legislative modernisation and proactive initiatives supporting economic growth and investment. The country has enhanced its legal framework, embraced advanced technology, and developed various sectors to improve citizens' quality of life. These efforts have positioned the UAE as a leader in over 90 indicators within the IMD report.

Regionally, the UAE topped the Human Development Index for 2023/2024 by the United Nations Development Programme. Globally, it ranked 17th out of 193 countries. For three consecutive years, it has led the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report with a record rate of 7.7 since its inception.

The UAE secured first place in the Middle East and North Africa and ranked 18th globally in the Travel & Tourism Development Index by the World Economic Forum. It achieved fifth place globally and first in the Arab world for road quality. Additionally, it ranked tenth globally for public transport efficiency and ninth for port services efficiency.

Throughout 2024, the UAE dominated several civil aviation sector indicators. It ranked first globally for Air Transport Infrastructure Quality within the Travel & Tourism Development Index. It also placed third globally for air transport service efficiency and international departure seat availability.

Foreign Investment Success

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report from June highlighted that the UAE was second only to the United States in new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects for 2023. With 1,323 new projects, this marked a growth rate of approximately 33% from the previous year.

The report noted that FDI inflows into the UAE reached $30.688 billion (around AED112.6 billion) in 2023. By year's end, foreign investments totaled $262.208 billion (approximately AED962 billion).

Digital Services Leadership

The UAE excelled in government and digital services according to the United Nations E-Government Survey 2024. It topped globally in ICT Infrastructure Index with a perfect score of 100%. The country also improved significantly in Human Capital Index rankings, moving from 44th to tenth place.

In Asia and the Arab world, it achieved first place within this index category. Furthermore, it reached fifth place globally in Quality Infrastructure Index for Sustainable Development by UNIDO among countries with GDPs between $100 billion to $1 trillion.

The UAE's consistent progress across various sectors underscores its commitment to enhancing competitiveness on a global scale through strategic initiatives aimed at sustainable development.

With inputs from WAM