The United Arab Emirates ranked first in economic performance in the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, while four Gulf countries placed among the top 20 in the overall standings. The UAE finished fifth overall, followed by Qatar in 11th, Saudi Arabia in 13th and Bahrain in 20th.
The results cover 70 economies. They assess the conditions in which businesses operate across four areas: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. A country can therefore lead one area without taking first place overall. Singapore headed the combined ranking this year, ahead of Hong Kong, Switzerland and Taiwan.
IMD’s published results also place Oman 25th, Kuwait 31st and Jordan 46th overall. Those positions tell a different story from the economic performance table, where Oman ranked 47th and Jordan 67th.
The UAE’s Lead Is in Economic Performance
The UAE retained first place in IMD’s economic performance category. Its fifth-place overall finish was unchanged from 2025, according to the yearbook’s results table. Economic performance is one of the four factors feeding into the broader ranking; it is not a separate measure of which country has the largest economy or the fastest growth rate.
IMD describes the category as a macroeconomic evaluation of the domestic economy. Its underlying measures span areas such as domestic activity, international trade and investment, employment and prices. The result gives a view across those measures, rather than a verdict based on any single economic statistic.
Within the same category, Saudi Arabia ranked 12th, Qatar 13th and Bahrain 17th. The ordering differs from their overall places: Qatar came ahead of Saudi Arabia in the combined ranking, while Saudi Arabia placed ahead of Qatar on economic performance alone.
The UAE’s fifth-place overall result puts it among a varied group near the top of the table. Denmark placed sixth and Ireland seventh, immediately behind it, while Singapore led the ranking despite placing third in economic performance.
Different Positions Across the Gulf
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain joined the UAE in the global top 20, giving Gulf economies four places in that group. Qatar slipped two positions from 2025, while Saudi Arabia climbed four and Bahrain rose two, according to IMD’s year-on-year comparison. Their 2026 positions were 11th, 13th and 20th, respectively.
Oman stood just outside that group in 25th place, up three positions. Kuwait climbed five places to 31st. The gains do not mean the two countries performed alike across every factor: Oman ranked 47th in economic performance, whereas Kuwait placed 31st in both economic performance and the overall ranking.
Jordan, the only non-Gulf economy in this seven-country comparison, ranked 46th overall, one place higher than in 2025. Its economic performance position was 67th. The gap between those two places is a reminder that the overall table combines assessments beyond current economic results.
The Gulf countries’ positions also sit within a wider reshuffling of the table. Singapore moved up to first overall, Hong Kong rose to second and Switzerland fell to third. IMD’s announcement of the results emphasizes the role of credible institutions and predictable rules in how economies withstand a volatile international environment.
What the Ranking Measures
IMD defines competitiveness as an economy’s capacity to create and maintain an environment that supports enterprises. Its 2026 methodology divides that environment into 20 subfactors under the four main categories. Each subfactor carries the same weight in the overall calculation, even though the number of individual criteria within them varies.
The ranking draws on measured data as well as an executive opinion survey. Under IMD’s methodology, hard data accounts for two-thirds of the overall ranking and survey responses for one-third. That mix gives the survey a meaningful role: the final positions reflect both recorded outcomes and executives’ assessments of business conditions.
The region’s clearest 2026 headline is thus specific: the UAE led the economic performance factor, and the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain reached the overall top 20. Oman, Kuwait and Jordan occupied different places in the combined ranking and in the economic performance table.
