Hong Kong has ranked fifth in the 2024 World Competitiveness Ranking, an index produced by the business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD), while Singapore has reclaimed the top spot for the first time since 2020.
Announced on Tuesday, the index has been evaluating the competitiveness of global economies annually for 30 years based on four main factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
Hong Kong used to have a place within the top three but its ranking has fallen since 2020. It ranked fifth in 2022 and seventh in 2023 before rising to fifth again this year.
Of the four factors, Hong Kong’s economic performance improved significantly compared to last year, with the city moving from 36th place to 11th.
Hong Kong’s government efficiency score dropped slightly from last year, while business efficiency and infrastructure improved.
A spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said on Tuesday that the index “continued to recognise Hong Kong as one of the most competitive economies in the world.”
“With staunch support from the Central Government, the Hong Kong economy has continued to recover after the epidemic,” the spokesperson said. “Under ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong enjoys the strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world, and is the only city that combines Chinese advantages and international advantages.”
Often considered as Hong Kong’s long-term rival, Singapore secured the top spot for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020.
According to the IMD index, the city state’s competitiveness dropped slightly during the pandemic to fifth in 2021, third in 2022 and fourth in 2023. It returned to top of the ranking this year.
Compared to Hong Kong, Singapore scored significantly higher in economic performance and business efficiency.
Switzerland ranked second and Denmark third. The self-ruled democratic island Taiwan came in at eighth, while mainland China climbed from 21st spot last year to 14th.
The most expensive city
Separately, Hong Kong was named the most expensive city in the world for international workers in 2024, followed by Singapore, according to the annual Cost of Living City Ranking produced by the consulting firm Mercer.
The ranking, which evaluated over 220 cities around the world, assessed the costs of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
Swiss cities continued to exhibit high living costs, with Zurich ranking as the third-most expensive city in the world, followed by Geneva, Basel and Bern.
New York City, in the US, ranked seventh, while Britain’s capital London was at eighth according to Mercer.
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