Hong Kong has risen three places to fourth in a global ranking for digital competitiveness, driven by strong performance in talent and education, but still trailing regional rival Singapore.

The International Institute for Management Development’s report lauded Hong Kong for its “impressive upward trajectory” while also highlighting poorer performance in areas such as government cybersecurity capacity and its legal framework for privacy protection.

The 2025 Digital Competitiveness Ranking, released on Tuesday, ranked 69 economies worldwide to measure the extent to which the adoption of technologies leads to changes in government practices, business models and wider society.

Switzerland secured top spot, followed by the United States and Singapore.

Hong Kong’s fourth-place finish marks its best performance since 2021, when it ranked second overall. The city then fell to ninth in 2022 and 10th in 2023, before climbing slightly to seventh in 2024.

Among the three major indicators, Hong Kong ranked fifth in “Knowledge”, third in “Technology” and climbed five places from last year to 10th in “Future Readiness”.

Among the sub-indices, Hong Kong topped the rankings in technological framework and adaptive attitudes, the latter driven by the city’s high smartphone ownership rate and positive attitude towards globalisation.