UAE Achieves Top 10 Global Position in IMD Government Support Index
The United Arab Emirates has ascended to 10th place worldwide in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook's 2026 Government Support Index, a remarkable six-place advancement that underscores the nation's exemplary fiscal stewardship and economic efficiency.
The United Arab Emirates has attained a distinguished milestone in global economic rankings, securing 10th place worldwide in the 2026 Government Support Index as featured in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook. This achievement represents a significant six-place elevation from the nation’s 16th position in 2025, and realises the UAE’s ambitious 2026 strategic target of entering the world’s top 10 countries in this crucial competitiveness indicator.
The Government Support Index assesses the efficacy of government investment by measuring government support as a percentage of gross domestic product. The UAE’s performance has strengthened considerably, with the indicator value declining to 0.43% in 2026 from 0.55% in 2025. Within this ranking methodology, a lower percentage reflects superior performance and demonstrates the government’s exceptional capacity to optimise public expenditure whilst delivering maximum economic impact.
Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, expressed that this advancement exemplifies the prescient vision of the nation’s leadership. “The UAE’s global competitiveness reflects the wise vision of our leadership, which places macroeconomic sustainability and balanced growth at the forefront of national priorities,” he stated. “Our rise to 10th place globally in the Government Support Index demonstrates the resilience of the UAE’s economic and fiscal system and its ability to strike a careful balance between targeted economic stimulus and greater efficiency in investment spending, whilst fostering a business environment built on innovation and fair competition.”
This accomplishment complements the UAE’s formidable standings across multiple fiscal competitiveness indicators. The nation maintains second place globally in the Public Finance Index, third place in the Budget Surplus or Deficit Indicator, fourth place in the Government Efficiency Index, and seventh place in the General Government Expenditure Index.
The achievement reflects profound institutional integration and strategic coordination between the Ministry of Finance and local finance departments operating within a unified Government Finance Statistics framework. This harmonised approach has enhanced the accuracy, reliability and comparability of public finance data nationwide, whilst ensuring consistent reporting and timely information availability. The Minister acknowledged that continued development of the national fiscal system in accordance with leading global practices, coupled with enhanced data quality initiatives, will sustain outstanding fiscal performance and reinforce the UAE’s position as a preeminent global economic and financial centre.
Looking forward, the UAE will concentrate upon maintaining this exceptional standing whilst consolidating its position amongst the world’s top 10 countries in the indicator. Ongoing endeavours will advance the nation’s public finance data ecosystem through improved completeness, quality and timeliness, supporting more efficient reporting and ensuring continued accuracy and contemporary relevance.
Source: WAM