New Southbound Policy Portal

Taiwan ranks 11th out of 63 major economies in the latest World Digital Competitiveness Ranking published Oct. 1 by Switzerland-based IMD. (Staff Photo/Chin Hung-hao)
 

Taiwan moved up two places from last year to 11th out of 63 major economies in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking recently released by Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development.

The country finished fourth in the Asia-Pacific, ranking ahead of Australia, 15th; China, 16th, New Zealand, 22nd; Malaysia, 26th; and Japan, 27th. The U.S. maintained its top position, followed by Singapore and Denmark, in that order.

Among the three major ranking factors of Knowledge, Technology and Future Readiness, Taiwan dropped one spot to 18th in the former, though it maintained second in Total R&D Personnel per Capita and moved up one place to third in Higher Education Achievement.

In Technology, Taiwan advanced four spots to fifth overall and topped the world in Mobile Broadband Subscribers as well as IT and Media Stock Market Capitalization.

The country gained four places to eighth in Future Readiness, with the report citing Taiwan’s strengths in Agility of Companies, first; Opportunities and Threats, second; and Smartphone Possession, also second.

According to National Development Council, the result spotlights the government’s success in promoting tertiary education and cultivating R&D talents while also highlighting areas for further improvement. The government will continue to strengthen Taiwan’s digital operational capacity to enhance the country’s global competitiveness, it added.

First launched in 2017, the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking measures the capacity and readiness of economies across 52 criteria to adopt and explore digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in business, government and wider society. (SFC-E)