Spain dropped four spots on the world's most competitive countries list, according to the latest "World Competitiveness Ranking", produced annually by the IMD Business School, which ranks the country 40th out of 67 economies.
Spain's 2024 ranking is its second worst in the entire series, which was only lower in 2013 when it ranked 45th. Since then, it had remained between the 39th and 34th positions with slight fluctuations year by year, and a stable position of 36th in the last two years.
Spain's declining competitive position in 2024 is mainly due to worsening results in government efficiency, where Spain slides seven places, and business efficiency, where it drops one spot.
Spain fell seven places to 58th in government efficiency, due to worse scores in all sub-factors analysed, including public finances, fiscal policy, institutional framework, business legislation and corporate framework.
Spain's business efficiency score is down one place to 38th, due to a five-point reduction in "productivity and efficiency" and "labour market", the latter measuring how easy it is for companies to access skilled professionals, as well as the cost of labour.
The other two factors that make up the ranking – infrastructure and economic performance – show better results, retaining the 27th position in the former, and improving the economic performance position by five places to 27th, thanks mainly to better results in the "international trade" and "price" indicators, the latter being linked to inflation and the cost of living in the country.
Among the main challenges for the Spanish economy, according to the results of the report, are the need to reduce tax pressure and generate a stable regulatory framework for companies, efficiently invest European funds, strengthen the productive system and create a more resilient economy, promote the digitalisation of companies (especially SMEs), and increase investment in R&D to strengthen coordination between different agents and promote knowledge transfer.
General ranking
Globally, Singapore, Switzerland and Denmark occupy the top three positions in the IMD Global Competitiveness Ranking for 2024.
In this sense, Singapore consolidates its position as the most competitive economy and regains the position it already held in 2020, thanks to its good results in the four competitiveness factors, especially in government efficiency and business efficiency, reflecting the strength of the public and private sectors.
Meanwhile, Switzerland made progress thanks to its improved economic performance and business efficiency, as well as its continued leadership in government efficiency and infrastructure. Denmark dropped to third place due to a decline in its economic performance.
The top 10 is completed by Ireland (4th), Hong Kong (5th) and Sweden moving up two places to 6th, ahead of the United Arab Emirates (7th), Taiwan (8th), the Netherlands (9th) and Norway (10th).
The 2024 rankings show that emerging countries are closing the gap with more advanced economies, especially in the areas of innovation, digitalisation and diversification.
Countries such as China (14th), India (39th), Brazil (62nd), Indonesia (27th) and Turkey (53rd) have experienced rapid growth and development in recent decades and have become key players in trade, investment, innovation and geopolitics.
"We believe that the most competitive economies of the future will be those able to anticipate and adapt to this changing global context, while creating value and well-being for their citizens, which will also make them sustainable," said Arturo Bris, Director of IMD's Global Competitiveness Center.
Therefore, "among the main competitiveness challenges are the transition to a low-carbon and circular economy, the increasing integration of emerging markets into the global economy and the pace of digital transformation".
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