The UAE strengthened its position among the world’s leading economies during the first half of 2026 after securing top positions across a wide range of international competitiveness rankings covering entrepreneurship, economic performance, safety, investment and public trust.
The latest results place the Emirates among the world’s best-performing countries across business, governance, innovation and quality of life, reinforcing its reputation as a future-ready economy.
The UAE retained its position as the world’s best environment for entrepreneurship for the fifth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2025/2026 report.
The country ranked first globally as the best place to start and grow a business.
UAE named world’s best place to start a business
Among high-income economies, the UAE also ranked first across eight indicators, including:
Infrastructure
Government policies
Taxation and bureaucracy
Government entrepreneurship programmes
Research and development transfer
Market access
Entrepreneurship education
The country ranked second globally for entrepreneurial finance and access to funding and was one of only four economies to achieve above-sufficiency scores across all entrepreneurship framework conditions.
In the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2026, the UAE ranked:
First globally for economic performance
Fifth overall worldwide
First in the region for the 10th consecutive year
The report also placed the UAE fourth globally for:
Government efficiency
Corporate investment in artificial intelligence
Legal and regulatory framework
Overall, the country ranked among the:
Top 10 globally in 118 competitiveness indicators
Top five in 67 indicators
First globally in 21 indicators
Those included the absence of bureaucracy, adaptability of government policies, employment, availability of international talent, national culture, societal support for competitiveness and air transport quality.
The UAE also ranked: second globally for public confidence in artificial intelligence, business creation, women’s representation in parliament and city management.
It placed third globally for international image, access to artificial intelligence technologies, tourism receipts, merchandise exports and energy infrastructure.
Investment and soft power growth
The UAE remained among the world’s top 10 in the 2026 Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index for the fourth consecutive year.
The country recorded its highest-ever governance ranking and strengthened its performance across business, trade, international relations, security and sustainability.
It also entered the global top 10 investment destinations for the first time.
The index assessed 193 countries using responses from more than 150,000 business leaders, policymakers and members of the public worldwide.
The UAE continued to strengthen its international reputation beyond business competitiveness.
The country topped Numbeo’s 2026 Safety Index, while Abu Dhabi retained its position as the world’s safest city for the 10th consecutive year since 2017.
Long-term strategy reflected in global rankings
Separately, the UAE ranked first globally for the second successive year as the leading destination for wealthy migrants in the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026, recording the world’s highest Wealth Mobility Competitiveness Index score of 85.3 out of 100.
The Emirates also ranked first globally in the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer for public trust in government.
According to the latest international rankings, the UAE’s performance reflects its long-term development strategy, supported by forward-looking policies, an agile government and continued investment in innovation, entrepreneurship and future readiness.
The results reinforce the country’s position among the world’s most competitive economies across business, governance, investment and quality of life.
