Eight Competitiveness Report 2025
Eight Competitiveness Report 2025
Switzerland has secured the top position in the new Eight Competitiveness Report 2025, placing first among 58 evaluated economies. The country outperforms others across four core pillars of national strength: Economics, Society, Education and Sustainability.
Competitiveness as a multidimensional benchmark
Based on 28 performance indicators and a classification of countries into five competitive clusters (A–E), the report demonstrates that true competitiveness is multidimensional. It depends on how effectively nations convert their human capital, institutions, and natural resources into sustainable and widely shared prosperity.
In this year’s analysis, Society emerges as the strongest predictor of overall competitiveness (correlation r = 0.949), showing that trust, integrity, and social cohesion are now central to long-term national resilience and economic success.
Pascal Raidron, President at Eight International said:
Competitiveness today is no longer about size, power, or growth at all costs. The most successful nations are those that earn the trust of their citizens, invest in future generations, and build sustainable foundations for prosperity. Our research confirms that balance, between economics, society, education, and sustainability, is now the ultimate competitive advantage.
Smaller nations lead the global rankings
The 2025 results highlight that smaller countries dominate the top tier. Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway demonstrate that agility, strong governance, and coherent long-term strategies give compact economies an edge. Meanwhile, the largest nations face deeper structural hurdles.
The study also shows a widening divide: only 1% of the world’s population lives in top-performing “Group A” countries, while 80% live in the lowest “D” and “E” clusters.
Alexis Karklins-Marchay, General Secretary at Eight added:
Investors, policymakers, and business leaders increasingly look beyond GDP. They want resilient societies, transparent institutions, and long-term certainty. Our report provides a clear lens on where that resilience is strongest, and where transformative progress is still possible.
Integrity, sustainability and education matter most
This year’s edition reveals strong links between competitiveness, innovation, and institutional resilience. Economies that consistently invest in technology, talent, and stable governance outperform others in long-term competitiveness. The data also highlights that productivity and innovation tend to accelerate in markets with clear regulations and business-friendly environments.
A shifting competitiveness map
The global competitiveness landscape is shifting. Smaller, agile economies are climbing in the rankings, while several major markets face stagnation or decline. Europe remains diverse in performance, Asia continues to gain momentum, and North America shows mixed results. These shifts illustrate an increasingly multi-polar competitiveness map.
About the Report
The Eight Competitiveness Report 2025 offers a holistic assessment of 58 countries, using a robust methodology that evaluates national performance across Economics, Society, Education, and Sustainability, supported by multiple validation tests to avoid single-index bias.
About the Eight Competitiveness Lab
The Eight Competitiveness Lab, founded by Eight International, provides insights for investors, corporations and policymakers across more than 30 countries. The Lab analyses global economic and social progress through the lens of business competitiveness, institutional strength, education quality and environmental sustainability.
