Global and regional ranking

The UAE was ranked first in the Arab region and 25th globally in the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 (PDF, 350 KB), released by The World Economic Forum. According to the report, which assesses the competitiveness of 141 economies, the UAE’s rank went up by 2 positions since the previous edition of the report.

Performance indicators

The report measures countries on 103 indicators which are spread under 12 pillars. The 12 pillars are:

1. Institutions
2. Infrastructure
3. ICT adoption
4. Macroeconomic stability
5. Health
6. Skills
7. Product market
8. Labour market
9. Financial system
10. Market size
11. Business dynamism
12. Innovation capability.

The UAE came 1^st globally in macroeconomic stability, 2^nd in ICT adoption and 4^th in product market. It came in the top 10 globally in the following sub-pillars:

1. Public-sector performance (4^th rank)
2. Domestic competition (6^th rank)
3. Security (7^th rank)
4. Trade openness (7^th rank)
5. Entrepreneurial culture (8^th rank)
6. Infrastructure and transport (8^th rank)
7. Future orientation of government (9^th rank).

The UAE led in the following indicators:

1. Inflation
2. Debt dynamics
3. Mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions
4. Credit gap.

It came 2^nd globally in the following indicators:

1. Electricity access
2. Mobile-broadband subscriptions
3. Internal labour mobility.

It took the 3^rd place in government's responsiveness to change and 4^th in the following indicators: 

1. Efficiency of legal framework in challenging regulations
2. Burden of government regulation
3. Legal framework's adaptability to digital business models
4. Future orientation of government
5. Fibre internet subscriptions
6. Pay and productivity
7. Venture capital availability.

It came 5^th in the following indicators:

1. Internet users
2. Growth of innovative companies
3. Distortive effect of taxes and subsidies on competition.

The UAE occupied the 6^th place in Efficiency of legal framework in settling disputes, and the 7^th place in place in the following indicators:

1. Quality of road infrastructure
2. Attitudes towards entrepreneurial risk
3. Efficiency of air transport services,
4. Organized crime impact on businesses

The UAE occupied the 8^th place in:

1. Government ensuring policy stability
2. Ease of finding skilled employees
3. Critical thinking in teaching.

The UAE occupied the 9^th rank in the following indicators:

1. Homicide rate per 100,000 population
2. Prevalence of non-tariff barriers
3. Hiring and firing practices
4. Financing of SMEs.
5. State of cluster development
6. Companies embracing disruptive idea

Methodology

The assessment is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which maps the competitiveness landscape of 141 economies through 103 indicators organised into 12 pillars. For each indicator, the index uses a scale between 0 and 100 and the final score shows how close an economy is to the ideal state or being the frontier of competitiveness. The Global Competitiveness Report is a flagship publication of The World Economic Forum.

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