Singapore dethroned in world competitiveness rankings

Switzerland swipes Singapore's crown in IMD's World Competitiveness Rankings.

Singapore fell from number one to rank five in IMD’s World Competitiveness Ranking, with its spot snatched up by Switzerland for the first time in IMD’s 33-year history.

IMD said that Singapore suffered significantly on an economic level during the pandemic, as it depends on the export and import of services and on people’s mobility.

IMD added that though Singapore managed to top the economic performance factor, it fell to ninth in the global business efficiency and 11th in global infrastructure.

"It ran into problems with job losses, lack of productivity and the economic impact of the pandemic. Similar to other countries that declined, Singapore experienced a shrinkage in its economic activity, in particular, a sharp decline in employment growth, and a sizable worsening in public finances due to an increase in both government deficit and public debt,” IMD said.

Meanwhile, Sweden came second. Denmark ranked third, followed by the Netherlands in fourth.