Spain has gained three positions in the ‘Digital Competitiveness Ranking’ prepared annually by the business school IMD (Institute for Management Development) and which analyzes the degree of digital adoption and readiness of 64 economies, moving to the 28th position it already held in 2022. Singapore appears in first place in the classification after displacing the United States, which drops to fourth place.
Although Spain remains stable in the three large categories that make up the study: Knowledge (26th), Technology (31st) and Preparation for the Future (29th), the rise is due to the improvements obtained in some sub-factors analyzed such as training and education ( 31º); the regulatory framework (34th) and, especially, business agility (33rd), a factor in which Spain improves 10 positions.
Some sub-factors in which Spain ostensibly stands out are: computer science education index (7th), use of robots in research and development (7th), internet broadband speed (9th) or possession of Smartphones (10th).
Meanwhile, those areas in which it appears at the bottom of the ranking are: financing of technological development (51st), legislation on scientific research (59th) and flexibility and adaptability (51st).
In this sense, those responsible for the study point out that Spain’s rise in this year’s ranking is especially due to advances in digitalization in the corporate sphere, while the management of digital talent continues to be one of the main weaknesses, as well as the legislation for scientific research where Spain occupies the last positions in the world ranking.
“One of the most notable aspects in the evolution that Spain has experienced is due to how the business sector is increasingly aligning itself with the challenges of digitalization,” says the chief economist of the IMD World Competitiveness Center, Christos Cabolisreferring to the greater agility of companies (moving from 43rd position to 33rd), largely by more effectively leveraging the use of Big Data and Analytics, and better preparation to seize opportunities and address threats of digitization.
Regarding weaknesses, the authors point out that the main weakness for Spain’s digital competitiveness is in the attraction and management of digital talent, a factor that has the most notable drop in this year’s edition, dropping seven positions (from 27th to 34º) obtaining the worst classification for years.
The drop is mainly due to the worse results obtained by Spain in its ability to attract managers with international experience (drop of 17 positions) and the reduction of the technological and digital skills of the teams (drop of 6 positions), while also highlighting negatively the legislation for scientific research, an area in which Spain occupies 59th place, therefore being at the bottom of the 67 economies analyzed.
The latest edition of the ‘Digital Competitiveness Ranking’ has Singapore in first position, ahead of Switzerland and Denmark, while the United States, which occupied first position last year, drops three places to fourth place.
«Geopolitical rivalries, especially between great powers such as the US and China, are fragmenting the digital landscape to some extent, influencing not only the way other countries develop and use digital technologies, but also their ability to compete. worldwide,” he says. Jose Caballerosenior economist at the World Competitiveness Center.
Thus, an economy’s ability to compete globally is threatened by the trade war between China (which has risen five places to 14th) and the United States (4th) and any new tariff is likely to include elements related to national security.
In other words, those responsible for the study warn that tensions around technology and security could intensify, leading the US to further restrict China’s access to advanced technology.
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