Singapore has leapfrogged Switzerland to take top spot in the latest Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), riding on its strength in cultivating adaptable, digitally fluent and innovation-ready workforces in the age of artificial intelligence.
This year is the first time the city-state topped the annual ranking, which was launched by INSEAD in 2013 as a benchmark for policy thinking on labour markets, work organisation and talent flows.
High-income European economies continue to anchor the top 10 in this edition, but this year’s GTCI report is also notable for the decline of several major economies, including the United States which slid from 3rd to 9th place.
Themed “Resilience in the Age of Disruption”, this year’s GTCI – the 11th since 2013 –examines how nations and economies are building talent systems capable of weathering disruptions. The ranking of 135 economies is based on 77 indicators, including soft skills and AI talent concentration, across six dimensions: Enable, Attract, Grow, Retain, Vocational and Technical Skills, and Generalist Adaptive Skills.
“True resilience in talent is turning adversity into a catalyst for innovation, adaptability and renewed purpose,” says Felipe Monteiro, GTCI Academic Director and Senior Affiliate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD.
“Resilience means learning how to bounce forward, not just bounce back from the inevitable shocks and crises.”
Lily Fang, INSEAD’s Dean of Research and Innovation, says: “This year’s report should be seen as much more than a race between nations. It offers leaders thoughtful points of reflection on how to integrate powerful technologies, such as AI, into the grand pursuit of human progress.”
This year’s ranking also marks the launch of a new partnership between INSEAD and the Portulans Institute, a non-profit research outfit based in Washington D.C.
“This collaboration brings renewed depth and clarity to the GTCI at a time when rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty and profound societal transitions make dependable talent metrics more essential than ever,” says Rafael Escalona Reynoso, CEO of Portulans Institute.
Singapore’s strengths
Singapore stands apart in the latest ranking for the constant evolution of its educational system and its forward-looking approach to nurturing an adaptive and innovation-driven workforce, says the GTCI report.
The city-state was ranked first in Generalist Adaptive Skills for a workforce armed with the soft skills, digital literacy and innovation-oriented thinking that today’s fast-shifting landscape demands. Singapore’s ability to retain talent also surged seven spots to 31st.
"Economies that cultivate adaptable, cross-functional and AI-literate workforces tend to be better positioned to convert disruption into opportunity and sustain long-term competitiveness,” says Paul Evans, Emeritus Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD and co-editor of the report.
“This year’s results underscore that talent competitiveness is not solely a function of income level, but of strategic policy orientation, institutional quality and effective mobilisation of human capital resources.”
GTCI 2025: Top 20 Countries
| 1 | Singapore | 11 | Ireland |
| 2 | Switzerland | 12 | United Kingdom |
| 3 | Denmark | 13 | Iceland |
| 4 | Finland | 14 | Canada |
| 5 | Sweden | 15 | Belgium |
| 6 | Netherlands | 16 | Austria |
| 7 | Norway | 17 | Germany |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 18 | New Zealand |
| 9 | United States of America | 19 | France |
| 10 | Australia | 20 | Czech Republic |
Doing more with less
One of the defining messages of GTCI 2025, which is audited by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, is that the ability to translate investments into meaningful outcomes will set economies apart in the talent race.
Israel along with Singapore and South Korea stood out for their ability to get better talent outcomes with fewer resources. This was also true for some lower-middle income countries such as Tajikistan, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Even low-income countries, including Rwanda demonstrated strong foundations for talent development.
Evans observes, “Economies that align education, labour and innovation systems towards adaptive talent development can achieve high performance even with modest income levels.”
By the regions
Regionally speaking, there were few surprises. Europe continues to dominate the ranking, accounting for 18 of the top 25 positions including major economies such as Germany (17th), France (19th) and the United Kingdom (12th). In Asia and Oceania, Australia (10th) and New Zealand (18th) outscored Singapore in retaining talent but fell behind in General Adaptive Skills. China’s decline from 40th to 53rd reflected a less favourable business climate and labour market, though the report acknowledges that insufficient data could also have played a part.
North America’s capacity to cultivate and deploy skilled talent across sectors is reflected in the US’ (9th) and Canada’s (14th) strong rankings – despite the US’ poorer showing compared to 2023.
North Africa and Western Asia were led by Israel (23rd) while the United Arab Emirates (25th) topped the region in attracting talent and developing skills, although it lagged in high-level skills.
Chile (39th) came out top in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by Uruguay (42nd) and Costa Rica (44th). However, neither Brazil nor Mexico, the region’s two largest economies, managed to feature in the top 50.
Looking ahead, Escalona Reynoso observes, “What matters most today are adaptive capabilities: the ability to collaborate, think across disciplines, innovate under pressure and navigate fast-moving, tech-driven environments.
“These are the skills that increasingly define a country’s competitiveness -- and the GTCI now captures this reality more clearly than ever.”
More information and media resources:
Download the full report and infographics here. Follow #GTCI2025 online.
Read more about the GTCI 2025 findings here.
