The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2023 places Portugal in 39th position in the ranking of the 64 most competitive economies in the world, which corresponds to an increase of three positions in relation to the same index of 2022.
Denmark remains in first place, followed by Ireland (up five places from 2022) and Switzerland (down one place). This rise puts Portugal in the ranking previously occupied in 2019 and is mainly due to good results in seven factors, namely:
Real GDP per capita growth (4th);
Export concentration by product (4th);
Tourism revenues (9th);
Immigration laws (6th);
The female labor force (5th);
Secondary school enrollment (3rd);
Health care (5th).
Major weaknesses include:
Foreign direct investment flows (59th);
Fuel prices (57th);
The credibility of managers (60th);
Technological exports (51th).
According to the report, Portugal's challenges will be "to ensure national GDP growth above the European Union average, the development of a national strategy to promote management skills, digital transformation and energy transition; the optimization of public sector reforms in justice, health, education and social security or the provision of quality public services and the implementation of a cross-cutting political agreement on strategies for urgent demographic issues such as the aging population and low birth rate.
At the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) level, Portugal is ranked 26th in the index on a list that includes 41 countries. The IMD reveals that "inflation has affected regional competitiveness scores, with countries with the highest inflation rates losing ground to those with low inflation levels such as East Asia, West Asia and Africa.
