Switzerland has once again claimed the top spot as the world’s most talent-competitive country, marking its 11th consecutive year at the pinnacle of talent competitiveness, according to the latest report by the IMD World Competitiveness Center. The ranking, which assesses how economies sustain their talent pool, is based on a combination of survey responses and hard data from 67 economies worldwide.
European countries dominated this year’s top ten, with Switzerland leading the pack. Singapore, however, emerged as a standout winner, rising from 18th position in 2014 to secure second place this year. The city-state’s steady ascent is attributed to the readiness of its talent pool, which ranked first among all countries. Singapore also excelled in areas such as absence of discrimination, labor force growth, availability of skilled labor, and finance skills.
In contrast, the United States experienced a decline in talent competitiveness, falling six spots to 21st place this year. The country’s appeal category suffered the most, dropping from second in 2020 to 14th in 2024, primarily due to factors such as high cost of living and personal tax rates. The U.S. also slipped in the readiness category, ranking 32nd globally. Notably, the country’s language skills were rated below average, hindering its ability to meet enterprise needs.
The report, titled “The socio-economic implications of AI in the workplace,” shed light on the impact of artificial intelligence on the global talent landscape. While AI offers unprecedented efficiency and productivity, it also poses challenges such as job displacement, particularly in sectors reliant on routine tasks and automation. The report highlighted concerns about AI’s visibility in the workplace, with senior executives in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, the U.K., and Canada perceiving it as a replacement for human workers. Discrimination was also found to be increasing in these economies.
The incorporation of AI into the workforce introduces the risk of biased algorithms, potentially reinforcing existing inequalities and impacting marginalized communities. The report revealed that women’s employment is more than twice as likely to be affected by automation compared to men in high-income countries.
Although high-income economies may experience short-term disruption and increased discrimination due to AI adoption, they are also expected to reap greater overall benefits, according to the report.