Ireland ranked as second most competitive economy

Ireland is the second most competitive economy, beaten only by Denmark, a new ranking has shown, a significant improvement from its 2022 ranking.

But while Ireland scored highly in economic performance and efficiency in both government and business, it ranked more poorly for infrastructure.

The 2023 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR), which includes 64 global economies, ranked Ireland second on the list, up from 11th last year and 13th the year before. That put the country ahead of Switzerland in third, the US in ninth and the UK in 29th this year.

In the individual rankings Ireland scored first in economic performance, ahead of the US in second place, and third for both business and government efficiency. But infrastructure showed little improvement, at 19th place, up from 23rd a year earlier.

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The ranking was welcomed by the Industrial Development Agency Ireland (IDA Ireland). “The WCR is an important indicator of how Ireland compares to other countries in terms of our competitiveness, and how we compete for foreign direct investment,” IDA chief executive Michael Lohan said. “The fact that we have risen to second in the rankings demonstrates that Ireland punches well above its weight in attracting multinational companies to invest here and this is very welcome news.”

However, Mr Lohan noted that further work was needed on Ireland’s infrastructure, with only a slight improvement from the previous ranking. “We will continue to work closely with government and utility providers to ensure we have the necessary national infrastructure provision, which is critical to support our entire enterprise base both now and into the future.

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“This will be a key priority for IDA Ireland as part of our forward planning,” he said. “Ireland is an established top-tier investment location for multinationals who choose us because of our consistent, stable, pro-business landscape, our high level of education, our ability to attract and retain talent, and the flexibility of our skilled workforce.

“These attributes cannot be taken for granted, however, and we need to continue to build our capability particularly in the areas of digitalisation, sustainability and innovation, to ensure we stay at the top of the world rankings.”

This is the 35th edition of the annual ranking and report. It is compiled from 164 competitiveness criteria selected though economic literature, international, national, and regional sources, and feedback from the business community, Government agencies, and academics, along with 92 survey questions answered by 6,400 senior executives.