Abu Dhabi [UAE], June 27: The UAE has reinforced its position among the world's most competitive economies during the first half of 2026, securing leading positions across a range of international and regional competitiveness indices.
The results reflect the country's long-term development strategy, underpinned by forward-looking policies, an agile government, and a strong focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and future readiness.
The UAE retained its position as the world's best environment for entrepreneurship for the fifth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2025/2026 report, ranking first globally for the best place to start and grow a business.
The country also ranked first among high-income economies in eight indicators, including infrastructure, government policies, taxation and bureaucracy, government entrepreneurship programmes, research and development transfer, market access and entrepreneurship education.
The Emirates placed second globally for entrepreneurial finance and access to funding, and was one of only four economies to achieve above-sufficiency scores across all entrepreneurship framework conditions.
In the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2026, the UAE ranked first globally for economic performance and fifth overall.
It also maintained its regional lead for the 10th consecutive year and ranked fourth worldwide for government efficiency, corporate investment in artificial intelligence, and the legal and regulatory framework.
The country's strong performance placed it among the world's top 10 in 118 competitiveness indicators and the top five in 67 indicators. It ranked first globally in 21 measures, including the absence of bureaucracy, adaptability of government policies, employment, availability of international talent, national culture, societal support for competitiveness and air transport quality.
The UAE also ranked second globally in public confidence in artificial intelligence, business creation, women's representation in parliament and city management, while placing third for international image, access to AI technologies, tourism receipts, merchandise exports and energy infrastructure.
The country remained among the world's top 10 in the 2026 Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index for the fourth consecutive year, recording its highest-ever governance ranking and strengthening its standing in business, trade, international relations, security and sustainability. It also entered the global top 10 investment destinations for the first time.
The index assessed 193 countries based on responses from more than 150,000 business leaders, policymakers and members of the public worldwide.
The UAE also reaffirmed its position as one of the world's safest and most attractive countries in which to live and work, topping Numbeo's 2026 Safety Index, while Abu Dhabi retained its position as the world's safest city for the 10th consecutive year since 2017.
Separately, the UAE ranked first globally for the second successive year as the leading destination for wealthy migrants in the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026, achieving the world's highest Wealth Mobility Competitiveness Index score of 85.3 out of 100.
The country also ranked first globally in the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer for public trust in government.
The latest rankings underscore the UAE's continued progress across key economic, governance, innovation and quality-of-life indicators, reinforcing its position among the world's most competitive and future-ready economies.
Source: Emirates News Agency