TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan surged five places to No.11 in the latest world competitiveness rankings published by the IMD Business School in Switzerland Tuesday (June 16).
The island nation also ranked third in Asia on the list, with Singapore holding on to its top spot and Hong Kong slipping from second to fifth. China fell from No.14 to No. 20, while the only other Asian nation progressing five spots in the top 30 was South Korea at No. 23.
For Taiwan, the latest ranking amounted to its highest since 2015, when it was also No.11. Looking at other factors, Taiwan ranks No. 9 in the world for its government's efficiency, while in the category of countries with more than 20 million inhabitants, it only follows Canada and the United States, CNA reported.
IMD Professor Arturo Bris remarked that the presence of small nations at the top of the list — with Singapore followed by Denmark, Switzerland, and Finland — might show that smaller populations make it easier to achieve a social consensus in the face of threats such as the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.