IMD World Digital Competitiveness

Figure 1: Average ranking positions by region in overall digital competitiveness 2019-2023

Figure 2: Average digital competitiveness factor ranking by region in 2023

in 2021. Western Europe follows a very similar path too, with an average digital competitiveness level in the region declining over the past two years to 22 nd position. South American economies, on average, continue to lag behind in digitalization when compared to the rest of the world regions, further declining to 57 th place in 2023. Finally, Eastern European, Southern Asia & the Pacific, Western Asian and African economies maintain a stable average digital competitiveness performance between 2022 and 2023. Figure 2 presents the sub-regional average rankings in digital competitiveness at factor level. In 2023, Eastern Asia achieves top marks in all digital factors, signifi cantly distancing North America and Western Europe in both technology and future readiness subfactors. While Western Europe and North America share similar

scores in the latter subfactors, regional performances in the knowledge factor point to the fact that Eastern Asia and North America consistently remain the core hubs for digital innovation since the creation of the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking in 2017. Figure 2 also shows that Southern Asia and the Pacific, as well as Western Asia and Africa, are rapidly closing the gap with the most digitally competitive regions. The average rankings in the technology factor for these two regions highlight the fact that adoption and diffusion of digital technologies in these economies is advancing rapidly. This trend will likely facilitate the progression of these economies as the next innovation challengers to the Eastern Asian, North American, and Western European dominance.

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