IMD World Competitiveness Booklet 2022

Figure 3: Average ranking positions by region in Overall Competitiveness 2018-2022. Source: IMD World Competitiveness Center (2022)

4. Regional competitiveness trends Regional differences in the concerns expressed by executives and discussed in the previous section are linked to the corresponding competitiveness perfor- mance of these executives’ regions. However, the different speeds of the economic rebound that followed the most acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic explain to a greater extent the movement in the average regional competitiveness levels observed in 2022. Figure 3 presents the sub-regional overall competitive- ness ranking trend for the years 2018 to 2022. Over the past year, Western Asia & Africa, Eastern Europe and South

America increase in their competitiveness rankings; the other sub-regions remain relatively stagnant or decline in their overall average positions. In Western Asia & Africa, competitiveness levels rise from an average 38 th to 37 th place as also happens in Eastern Europe where the average competitiveness posi- tion rises to 40 th (up two points compared to 2021). South American economies have experienced a slight improvement in competitiveness over the past year, progressing to 56 th position.

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