After two years with no change, Chile has climbed two places in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, reaching its highest position since 2019. This improvement was driven by the country’s economic performance, although challenges remain in infrastructure, productivity, and innovation.
Chile moved up again in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, produced by Swiss business school IMD, being placed 42nd among the 69 countries assessed. This progress—following two years with no change—positions it as the most competitive country in Latin America, ahead of Colombia (54), México (55), Brazil (58), Peru (60), Argentina (62), and Venezuela (69).
The study is produced by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) with local support from Universidad de Chile’s Faculty of Economics and Business.
«Chile has returned to the level of competitiveness it had before the social unrest and the pandemic. We continue to lead the region, and have overcome the worst period of decline in competitiveness that we experienced in 2022,» explained Enrique Manzur, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, and one of the researchers behind the report.
The main driver of the improvement in Chile’s ranking was its economic performance, a category in which the country increased from 55th to 44th. Key subfactors that explain this progress include improvements in the domestic economy (54th to 44th), international trade (63rd to 57th), and employment (59th to 47th). However, there were slight declines in international investment (21st to 24th) and prices (24th to 26th).
Chile maintained its ranking of 30th in government efficiency. With regard to the subfactors in this category, the country improved its ranking in social framework (50th to 41st) and public finance (21st to 20th), maintained the same position in institutional framework (33), and declined in tax policy (36th to 39th) and business legislation (23rd to 26th).
In the business efficiency category, Chile fell from 41st to 43rd place, with declines in management practices (34th to 40th) and attitudes & values (38th to 40th), while it maintained its position in productivity & efficiency (62). However, it increased its position in the labor market (42nd to 28th) and finance (31st to 30th) subfactors.
Finally, in the infrastructure category, Chile fell from 45th to 48th place, with declines in basic infrastructure (34th to 36th), technological infrastructure (31st to 37th), health & environment (43rd to 44th), and education (49th to 51st).
During the presentation of the ranking, the Faculty of Economics and Business also identified the key challenges facing the country. At the international level, they emphasized the need to «navigate the trade war by increasing export value added and destination diversification.»
Domestically, they stressed the importance of «increasing labor productivity by boosting training in new technologies» and “improving public security by strengthening and supporting police work.»
In education and innovation, the Faculty of Economics and Business specified priorities including «increasing the quality and pertinence of education by capitalizing on AI» and «increasing R&D and innovation by promoting joint projects between universities, companies, and the public sector.»
Globally, the top three spots in the ranking were taken by Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong, pushing Denmark into fourth place. Meanwhile, the United States ranked 13th and China 16th.
With this result, Chile is consolidating its regional leadership and has regained a more competitive global position in an increasingly demanding and dynamic landscape.
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