KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Malaysia has jumped eight spots in the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking 2026, rising to 15th place among 70 economies, marking its best ranking in recent years.
Last year, Malaysia advanced 11 places to 23rd among 69 economies, up from the 34th place among 67 economies in 2024.
The ranking was based on four pillars — economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
According to IMD, improvements across all four pillars contributed to Malaysia’s stronger standing this year.
Malaysia ranked fourth globally in economic performance, rose 11 spots to 14th place in government efficiency, advanced 16 spots to 16th rank in business efficiency, and improved by two places to 33rd spot in infrastructure.
Among the sub-factors, Malaysia’s domestic economy ranking improved four places to 11th, while its international trade rose one spot to fifth position.
Its international investment also strongly improved, climbing seven spots to 19th place.
