The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has released its 2025 World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) with Ghana placing 61st out of 69 countries surveyed.

Ghana’s overall performance was a significant jump from the 65th position attained in the organisation’s 2024 study, said officials at the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), a research, training and consultancy Agency under the Ministry of Jobs, Labour and Employment.

The IMD report measures governmental policies that are conducive to long-term competitiveness, focusing on four thematic areas such as infrastructure, economic performance, government efficiency and business efficiency.

It aims, among other things, to help countries identify their strengths and weaknesses, so they can implement policy measures for improvement.

On economic performance, Ghana was ranked 66th, while infrastructure and business efficiency were rated 49th and 67th, respectively.

Government efficiency was also classified 49th, a slight improvement compared to 2024.

Regionally, Ghana placed third among six African countries that participated in the 2025 ranking. Kenya was the top-ranked African country followed by Bostwana, based on the key indicators of the study.

Switzerland claimed the top spot, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, and Denmark. Qatar entered the top 10 with Canada, Germany, and Luxembourg among the top 20.

Ghana’s strengths, according to the report, included real GDP growth per capita, public finances, cost of capital and energy infrastructure.

The declines, however, were in the country’s total public expenditure on education, employment, population growth, and medical assistance, among others.

The country’s “attractiveness indicators”, per the IMD ranking’s executive opinion survey, included a skilled workforce (60.7%), a business-friendly environment (53.6%), a high educational level (48.2%), and dynamism of the economy (46.4%).

Other indicators were effective labour relations (35.7%), open and positive attitudes (32.1%), and policy stability & predictability (32.1%).

Percentages reflect the number of Ghanaian executives who chose this option, the report said.

The 2025 analysis highlighted Ghana’s challenges such as a “decline in living standards due to weak economic growth, limited government spending and high inflation.”

“The digitalisation of basic services is made difficult by inclusion deficit, limited internet services, and the high costs of devices and data,” the report noted.

Local partners including the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Association of Ghanaian Industries (AGI), Ghana Employers Association (GEA), and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), were involved in offering statistical data and responding to the executive opinion survey.

Officials said the data would be used to calculate the IMD World Talent and Digital rankings, which would be in the months ahead.

Other partners included the Ghana Chamber of Agribusiness, Micro Credit Association of Ghana (MCAG), Ghana Tourism Federation, Ghana Chamber of Mines, Oxford Africa Women Leadership Institute (OAWLI), Ghana National Coalition of Private Schools and CenBa Graduate Institute.

Representatives of the Pan African Productivity Association (PAPA), local partners, and some officers from IMD were present, online and in-person, for the announcement of the WCY and ranking report at MDPI premises in Accra.

Dr Stephen Asirifi Essel, a Chief Consultant at MDPI, said the findings would inform policy makers to implement measures for a robust economy.

Calling for “better coordination” among institutions, he urged policy makers to take the report seriously and conduct stakeholder workshops to address the identified gaps.

The International Institute for Management Development urged policymakers and business leaders to consider government efficiency “not as a governance ideal, but as a practical requirement for sustaining economic resilience and investment appeal in the years ahead.”

“The top 10 economies all maintain strong institutional frameworks, robust infrastructure, and adaptive governance models, which is what is required to remain competitive in today’s fragmented world in which currency risk has become a strategic priority, together with protecting domestic needs,” the report noted.

“Countries that combine institutional strength with inclusive outcomes are able to withstand external shocks without yielding to internal fragmentation. In contrast, those that overlook institutional reform risk deepening social divisions and losing their competitiveness levels,” it added.

The International Institute for Management Development is an independent academic institute with close ties to business and a strong focus on impact. It offers executive education and advisory work to help leaders and policy-makers navigate complexity and change.