Switzerland came in fifth place in the World Digital Competitiveness ranking produced by the Lausanne-based IMD Business School. The ranking measures the capacity and readiness of 63 countries to adapt and explore digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in business, government and wider society.
Switzerland quickly understands new technologies
The ranking looked at three main factors: knowledge, technology and future readiness. Switzerland performed particularly well in the ‘knowledge’ category, coming in second place overall. Knowledge is defined here as a country’s capacity to understand and learn new technologies and utilize them for digital transformation.
According to the Swiss business association economiesuisse, there are several reasons for Switzerland’s strong performance in this category. The country attracts talented professionals from around the world, invests heavily in R&D, and has many people employed in scientific and technical professions.
Strong scientific expertise
Switzerland also ranked high in the other two main categories, coming in tenth place in both ‘technology’ and ‘future readiness’. The ‘technology’ category measures a country’s competence to develop new digital innovations, while ‘future readiness’ looks at how prepared a country is for the coming developments.
If one takes a closer look at several of the sub-categories, it becomes evident that Switzerland has strong scientific experience. It is also good at integrating IT, particularly with respect to public-private partnerships.
The US came in first place in the ranking, followed by Singapore, Sweden and Denmark.
