Bahrain Enters Global Top 20 for Competitiveness

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain has broken into the world’s top 20 most competitive economies for the first time after ranking third worldwide for prices in the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook.

The kingdom placed 20th among 70 economies in the Swiss-based ranking, up from 30th in 2022.

Its third-place showing for prices came under the economic performance section, which weighs inflation, living costs and the cost of goods and services.

Bahrain also ranked 11th for international trade. Gross domestic product stood at about $49 billion, while real economic growth reached 3.5pc.

GDP per head, measured by purchasing power parity, was put at $70,650, placing the kingdom 20th worldwide.

Bahrain ranked ninth for foreign direct investment inflows, which were equal to 5.25pc of GDP.

The kingdom placed fifth for tax policy and 11th for business law under government efficiency, though it ranked 67th for public finances.

Its scorecard was also strong in business efficiency. Bahrain came seventh for workplace attitudes and values, 11th for the labour market and 12th for management practices.

Basic infrastructure placed eighth worldwide, while technological infrastructure ranked 19th. Scientific infrastructure came 61st.

Bahrain also rose to 12th among 45 economies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, compared with 21st four years ago.

Among 38 countries with populations below 20 million, the kingdom climbed from 19th to 13th.

The report said sound government, stable institutions, the rule of law and strong currencies were playing a greater part in shaping economic strength as uncertainty weighed on the world economy.