In the 50th place of the IMD's global competitiveness ranking, Greece remained in 2026, according to Greece. World Competitiveness Yearbook, the details of which were published by the Hellenic Industry Association, as a national representative of the International Institute for Management Development in our country.
The Greek economy maintains the same position as in 2025, however in relation to 2024 it has retreated by three places. In the five years 2022 – 2026 it moves between 47th and 50th place, which reflects an image of relative stagnation in its international competitiveness.
At the same time, Greece is improving its ranking among the countries of the European Union participating in research. In 2026 he was ranked 21st among EU countries, against 22nd in 2025.
The four main indicators
IMD evaluates a total of 70 countries, based on their ability to create and maintain an environment that enhances business competitiveness. The evaluation is based on 262 criteria, 170 of which are statistical indicators and 92 qualitative criteria from an opinion survey between senior and senior firms.
The overall classification results from four key categories: economic efficiency, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.
In economic efficiency, Greece improves by two places, rising from 53rd to 51st place. Instead, in government efficiency it retreats by six positions, from 53rd to 59th. In business efficiency it remains 53rd place, while in infrastructure it retreats from 40th to 44th place, recording the worst performance of the last five years.
Strong and weak points
The strong points of the Greek economy include the export concentration, where the country is in second place, and the revenue from tourism as a percentage of GDP, where it occupies 8th place.
In government efficiency, high performance is recorded in the index of government elected by free elections, where Greece is ranked in 1st place, as well as in the budgetary result of the state budget as a percentage of GDP, where it ranks 9th.
On the contrary, the main weaknesses are identified in the current account, where Greece is in 65th place, unemployment rate, where it ranks 64th, general government debt as a percentage of GDP, where it is 67th place, and current tax rates, where it occupies 60th place.
In business efficiency, the long-term growth in labour force and wage levels in industry are positively recorded. On the contrary, low performance appears in the effective supervision of administrative boards and apprenticeship programs.
In infrastructure, Greece shows a strong picture of the proportion of students and teachers in primary education, where it is in 1st place, and the proportion of students and teachers in secondary education, where it is in 2nd place. However, it lags in the transfer of knowledge between businesses and universities and population growth, where it ranks 62nd place.
Singapore First
In the world rankings are Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland. The top ten also include Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the US.
It is notable that there are small economies in the first nine places, which, according to the analysis, shows that competitiveness does not depend solely on the size of the economy.
‘Coherent national strategy needed’
SBE President Lucia Saranti noted that Greece's 50th position recalls that, despite individual improvements, there are still significant weaknesses that limit the country's growth potential.
"The preservation of Greece in 50th place recalls that, despite the individual improvements recorded in recent years, there are still significant weaknesses that limit the country's development potential. Greece has significant advantages: high-level human capital, strong business base and significant development potential. However, in order to turn these advantages into higher competitiveness, a coherent national strategy with an emphasis on production, innovation, skills, energy competitiveness and digital transformation is required. If we want an economy more productive, more extroverted and more durable, stable policies are needed to boost the competitiveness of industry and production. The report shows where we are. The point is to decide how quickly we want to move forward.".
Source: newmoney. gr