Switzerland ranks third in the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, published by the IMD World Competitiveness Center in Lausanne. Among the 70 economies assessed, Switzerland slips two places from the top position it held in 2025, conceding first to Singapore, with Hong Kong SAR in second. The ranking, a global reference produced annually since 1989, measures how economies manage their competencies to achieve long-term value creation.

Switzerland’s decline is driven almost entirely by a sharp fall in its Economic Performance score, which dropped to 37th. The movement reflects a deterioration in the International Investment sub-factor, tied to swings in direct investment flows that the report attributes largely to one-off valuation or repatriation effects rather than a structural shift.

The country’s fundamentals, however, remain among the strongest in the world. Switzerland retained first place globally in both Government Efficiency and Infrastructure. Its Public Finance and Institutional Framework sub-factors lead the rankings, supported by a government budget surplus, a perfect country credit rating, and the world’s highest foreign currency reserves per capita. In Infrastructure, Switzerland ranks first in education and holds top positions in scientific infrastructure and health, with total R&D expenditure at 3.10 percent of GDP and the world’s highest number of Nobel prizes per capita.

These strengths are concentrated in the regions that anchor Swiss innovation, which is home to leading research institutes and a dense network of start-ups. For Western Switzerland, where the IMD itself is based, the 2026 results reaffirm the institutional stability, education and research excellence that continue to attract international companies and talent, even as the headline ranking reflects short-term economic volatility.