According to Switzerland based Institute for Management Development (IMD)’s ‘World Talent Ranking (WTR) 2024: The Socio-Economic Implications of AI in the Workplace’, Switzerland has topped the list as the world’s most competitive country for the 11th consecutive year, with an overall score of 100.
- Switzerland has performed well in investment, development, and appeal factors, while ranking high in quality of life, health infrastructure, educational attainment, among others.
- As per the report, India’s ranking at 2024 IMD WTR has dropped by 2 places, from 56th position (in 2023) to 58th position (in 2024), with overall score of 40.7.
World Talent Ranking 2024:
i.It is the 11th edition of IMD WTR and has covered 67 economies. It is published by the IMD World Competitiveness Center (WCC).Â
ii.It evaluates the performance of nations based on their ability to develop, retain, and attract highly qualified domestic and international talent.
iii.It defines talent competitiveness into 3 main factors:
- Investment and Development factor: It measures the resources earmarked to cultivate a homegrown workforce.
- Appeal factor: It evaluates the extent to which an economy attracts foreign and retains local talent.
- Readiness factor: It measures the quality of the skills and competencies that are available in a country’s talent pool.
iv.The report cautioned that Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption could be detrimental to the attraction and retention of talent, and to quality-of-life levels in certain economies, which could hinder their long-term talent competitiveness.
Top 5 Countries:
| Rank | Country | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 100 |
| 2 | Singapore | 85.65 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 81.69 |
| 4 | Sweden | 81.02 |
| 5 | Denmark | 78.49 |
| 58 | India | 40.47 |
Key Findings:
i.Singapore has made into the top 3 countries for the 1st time since the inception of WTR in 2014. It has improved its ranking significantly from 18th spot (in 2014) to 2nd (in 2024).
- This improvement is mainly driven by Singapore’s exceptional talent pool, characterized by low discrimination and a robust availability of skilled labour and financial expertise.
- It has also jumped by 6 places in the latest ranking, from 8th position in 2023.
ii.Luxembourg has witnessed a marginal drop in its ranking compared to previous year i.e. from 2nd position (in 2023) to 3rd (in 2024).
- While Sweden has secured 4th position in the latest rankings with an overall score of 81.02 (up from 10th spot in 2023), followed by Denmark which has moved from 7th spot (in 2023) to 5th (in 2024).
iii.Among the top 10 countries in 2024 WTR, 8 countries are from the European region, with Switzerland leading the ranking, excelling in talent competitiveness.
- The remaining two countries in the top 10 are from the Asian region: Singapore and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China ranked 9th position as the most competitive economies for talent.
iv.The United States of America (USA) has dropped from 6th position to 21st position with an overall score of 66.84. This drop in ranking is mainly attributed by its poor performance in appeal (ranked at 14th) and readiness categories (ranked at 32nd) due to factors like cost of living and personal income tax rates.
v.According to the report, 3 new countries which have debuted in the WTR 2024 are: Ghana (64th), Nigeria (60th) and Puerto Rico (45th).
vi.The Slovak Republic (59th), Colombia (60th), Mexico (61st), Mongolia (62nd), and Venezuela (63rd) are at the bottom of the ranking.
India-Specific:
i.The 2024 WTR showed a mixed performance for India compared to previous years as the overall rank of India has dropped from 52nd (in 2022) to 58th (in 2024).
ii.India’s performance in the appeal category has remained stable compared to previous year and was ranked at 53rd position in 2024.
iii.While, India’s ranking in the readiness and investment & development category has decreased significantly.
- Its ranking in readiness category has decreased from 18 (in 2022) to 35 (in 2024). Similarly, India’s ranking in investment and development decreased from 61 (in 2022) to 66 (in 2024).
iv.India has secured 12th position among Asia-Pacific countries in 2024 IMD WTR.
About the International Institute for Management Development (IMD):
President– David Bach
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland
