Taiwan’s global competitiveness soars, rising to 6th place in the 2025 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking. The International Institute for Management Development published the report Tuesday, evaluating 69 economies worldwide. The ranking measures economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
Taiwan impressed once again, maintaining its position as the top-ranked economy among countries with populations over 20 million. This marks the fifth consecutive year Taiwan’s global competitiveness soars among large nations. The National Development Council highlighted that strong exports in semiconductors, AI, and high-performance computing mainly drove this success.
In terms of economic performance, Taiwan improved significantly in international trade and foreign investment. However, employment and price metrics showed some decline. Meanwhile, government efficiency stayed steady at eighth place. Taiwan ranked first globally for democratic elections and secured second place for ease of business financing. These achievements underline Taiwan’s strengths in democratic governance and access to capital.
Moreover, business efficiency jumped from sixth to fourth, largely due to better productivity and efficiency measures. Specifically, Taiwan improved from ninth to second in these areas. This improvement played a major role in boosting Taiwan’s overall competitiveness. Infrastructure remained at 10th place, with technology and science infrastructure solidly in the global top 10. Education advanced three places, now ranking 11th.
Notably, Taiwan secured top-three finishes in 24 sub-indicators. These include corporate trust, sustainability awareness, and stock market capitalization. It earned second place in corporate agility, R&D spending relative to GDP, and effective board oversight. Third place rankings covered high-tech exports, big data decision-making, and medium-to-high-tech manufacturing value added.
The National Development Council emphasized that Taiwan’s global competitiveness soars due to strong entrepreneurship and innovation. Additionally, the IMD ranking provides a comprehensive view of Taiwan’s economic health. Policymakers will use these insights to tackle challenges such as U.S. tariffs and shifting global supply chains. In conclusion, Taiwan’s global competitiveness soars through steady government efficiency, robust business productivity, and advancing infrastructure. These strengths position Taiwan well for future economic growth and global standing.
