Digital competitiveness: Switzerland is losing ground – “blame it on AI”
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland is losing ground in terms of digital competitiveness, slipping to ninth place in a ranking compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD).
Switzerland has frequently featured on the podium in recent years (third in 2025).
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The ranking is topped by the United States, followed by Singapore, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Sweden and Finland, ahead of Switzerland. South Korea rounds off the top ten.
“Switzerland performs less well than other countries when it comes to new factors linked to artificial intelligence,” stated IMD. This applies above all to investment in the new technology.
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By contrast, the US currently leads the field in AI, thanks in particular to the strength of its technological ecosystem in terms of investment, innovation and research, as well as its economic performance.
China is a world leader in terms of efficiency and also ranks highly for technology and infrastructure. However, it lacks digital governance, namely transparent regulation for users and citizens.
“The economies best positioned to benefit from AI will not necessarily be those with the most ambitious national rhetoric on the subject or with the greatest number of isolated initiatives in the sector,” said Arturo Bris, professor of finance and director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre.
“The winners will be those who make AI cheaper to experiment with, safer to implement, clearer to govern, easier to integrate and more reliable in the eyes of customers, partners, regulators and workers. AI is now a systemic component of competitiveness, but it can only expand when the system surrounding it is ready,” he added.
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Switzerland improves digital competitiveness
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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
