Latest news with #GlobalSoftPowerIndex2025
Zawya
07-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
UAE maintained its rising performance in global competitiveness race in Q1 2025
ABU DHABI: The UAE has maintained its rising performance in the global competitiveness race during the first quarter of 2025 by achieving advanced positions in many relevant international and regional indicators and reports. The achieved results signified the effectiveness and efficiency of the comprehensive development strategy pursued by the UAE, and the leadership of its experience in managing government work based on efficiency, proactive planning, and readiness to deal with various changes and challenges. The UAE has been ranked number one globally for the fourth consecutive year by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report for the year 2024-2025, surpassing many advanced economies. The UAE was also recognised as the world's best destination for entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) among 56 economies surveyed in this year's report. The UAE ranked first among high-income countries in 11 out of 13 key indicators, evaluating the institutional frameworks that support entrepreneurship, based on expert assessments. The country outperformed globally in areas including financing for entrepreneurial projects, ease of fund access, government policies supporting entrepreneurship, government-related tax and bureaucracy policies, government entrepreneurship programs, integration of entrepreneurship in school and high education, research and development transfer, commercial and professional infrastructure, ease of market entry in terms of burdens and regulatory frameworks, as well as social and cultural standards towards entrepreneurship. The UAE has secured 10th place globally in the Global Soft Power Index 2025. The UAE's Nation Brand also witnessed a significant increase in its value from $ trillion to 1.223 trillion dollars in 2025. The Global Soft Power Index, published by Brand Finance, evaluates 193 countries based on insights from 173,000 business leaders, policymakers, and civil society figures, making it one of the most comprehensive assessments of national influence and perception. The UAE was among the top 10 globally in key categories, ranking 4th in 'Future Growth Potential', 4th in 'Generous', 7th in 'A strong and stable economy', 8th in 'Influence', 9th in 'International Relations', 9th in 'Influential in diplomatic circles', 9th 'Advanced technology and innovation', 10th in Investment in Space Exploration, and 10th in 'Affairs I follow closely'. The UAE has been ranked the second safest country globally, achieving a safety index score of 84.5, according to the 2025 Safety Index released by Numbeo. Numbeo's annual safety rankings are based on user surveys that assess perceptions of crime levels, personal safety, and experiences with both property and violent crimes. In addition to its high safety ranking, the UAE also recorded the second-lowest crime rate in Numbeo's 2025 Crime Index, reinforcing its reputation as one of the most secure nations worldwide. The UAE is considered the second safest country in the world because it has strict laws regarding crime, drug use and public behavior, with severe penalties for violations. This acts as a deterrent to criminal activities. Law enforcement is highly efficient, with a strong police presence and a well-equipped security infrastructure. The country also has extensive surveillance, particularly in cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, helping authorities monitor and prevent crime effectively. Artificial intelligence and smart policing initiatives are also contributing to quick crime detection and resolution. The UAE's conducive environment for logistics, international trade and digital readiness shone on 2025 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index as the nation topped the Gulf rankings and came in third place globally. This index is an international standard for competitiveness in the logistics services sector for emerging markets and is done by evaluating 50 emerging markets around the world based on critical factors for logistics service providers, such as domestic and international logistics opportunities, business fundamentals and digital readiness. According to the index, the UAE continues its efforts to narrow the gap with the countries that top the rankings, reflecting the success of its investment strategy. The Agility Index report also highlights the UAE's efforts in the areas of sustainability and renewable energy, as the country has invested heavily in clean energy projects. The UAE has secured 21st place in the 2025 World Happiness Report, surpassing the UK, US, and France, and leading Arab Region. This annual survey, compiled by Gallup, ranks 147 nations based on life satisfaction from 2022-2024. The report assesses national happiness levels based on key indicators including: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, perceptions of corruption, and generosity.
Dubai Eye
05-04-2025
- Business
- Dubai Eye
UAE shines in global competitiveness rankings for 2025
The UAE has maintained its rising performance in the global competitiveness race during the first quarter of 2025 by achieving advanced positions in many relevant international and regional indicators and reports. The country's impressive results reflect the success of its comprehensive development strategy, marked by efficient governance, proactive planning, and adaptability to global changes and challenges. The UAE has maintained its position as the world's top destination for entrepreneurship, ranking number one for the fourth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2024-2025 report. The UAE outperformed 56 economies in fostering a thriving environment for entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), excelling in key areas such as financing, government policies, ease of market entry, and social attitudes towards entrepreneurship. In addition, the UAE has ranked 10th globally in the Global Soft Power Index 2025. This index evaluates national influence and perception, with the UAE scoring highly across various categories, including "Future Growth Potential," "Generosity," and "Influence." The country's Nation Brand also experienced a significant boost, reaching a value of $1.223 trillion. The UAE's commitment to safety is further evidenced by its ranking as the second safest country globally in the 2025 Safety Index by Numbeo. The country also secured the second-lowest crime rate in the 2025 Crime Index, thanks to strict laws, efficient law enforcement, and smart policing initiatives, making it one of the most secure nations worldwide. In logistics, the UAE ranked third globally in the 2025 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, reflecting its strong infrastructure for international trade, digital readiness, and sustainability initiatives in clean energy. Finally, the UAE secured 21st place in the 2025 World Happiness Report, surpassing countries like the UK, US, and France, and leading the Arab region. This ranking highlights the country's efforts to ensure high life satisfaction for its citizens through social support, economic stability, and opportunities for personal freedom. The UAE's ongoing performance across these diverse sectors underscores its growing global influence and commitment to advancing its economic, social, and technological landscape.
TAG 91.1
05-04-2025
- Business
- TAG 91.1
UAE shines in global competitiveness rankings for 2025
The UAE has maintained its rising performance in the global competitiveness race during the first quarter of 2025 by achieving advanced positions in many relevant international and regional indicators and reports. The country's impressive results reflect the success of its comprehensive development strategy, marked by efficient governance, proactive planning, and adaptability to global changes and challenges. The UAE has maintained its position as the world's top destination for entrepreneurship, ranking number one for the fourth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2024-2025 report. The UAE outperformed 56 economies in fostering a thriving environment for entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), excelling in key areas such as financing, government policies, ease of market entry, and social attitudes towards entrepreneurship. In addition, the UAE has ranked 10th globally in the Global Soft Power Index 2025. This index evaluates national influence and perception, with the UAE scoring highly across various categories, including "Future Growth Potential," "Generosity," and "Influence." The country's Nation Brand also experienced a significant boost, reaching a value of $1.223 trillion. The UAE's commitment to safety is further evidenced by its ranking as the second safest country globally in the 2025 Safety Index by Numbeo. The country also secured the second-lowest crime rate in the 2025 Crime Index, thanks to strict laws, efficient law enforcement, and smart policing initiatives, making it one of the most secure nations worldwide. In logistics, the UAE ranked third globally in the 2025 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, reflecting its strong infrastructure for international trade, digital readiness, and sustainability initiatives in clean energy. Finally, the UAE secured 21st place in the 2025 World Happiness Report, surpassing countries like the UK, US, and France, and leading the Arab region. This ranking highlights the country's efforts to ensure high life satisfaction for its citizens through social support, economic stability, and opportunities for personal freedom. The UAE's ongoing performance across these diverse sectors underscores its growing global influence and commitment to advancing its economic, social, and technological landscape.
Muscat Daily
11-03-2025
- Business
- Muscat Daily
Oman's global soft power stable
Muscat – Oman's soft power has remained unchanged with Global Soft Power Index 2025 ranking the sultanate 49th, same as 2024. Now in its sixth iteration, the 2025 edition examines the perceptions of all 193 member states of the United Nations. The index is based on comprehensive fieldwork, with responses gathered from over 170,000 people across more than 100 markets by UK-based Brand Finance – an independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy. The United States and China are the most influential soft power nations in the world. The UK is ranked third, followed by Japan (fourth) and Germany (fifth). In the GCC, UAE is the top ranked country at tenth place, followed by Saudi Arabia (20th), Qatar (22nd), Kuwait (40th) and Bahrain (51st). Oman has improved its ranking by five places in the 'Influence' and 'Culture and Heritage' categories to 44th and 70th respectively. In 'Governance', Oman's rank is up two places to 33rd and four places to 39th in 'Sustainable Future'. According to the report, after years of soft power gains, Middle Eastern nations lose momentum in 2025. Saudi Arabia has dropped two positions to 20th and Qatar has fallen one spot to 22nd. UAE is an exception, retaining tenth position globally, bolstered by strong perceptions of Influence (eighth), International Relations (ninth) and Business & Trade (tenth). This year, the UAE rises to second position globally for being 'easy to do business in and with' and ranks in the top ten for 'future growth potential' and 'strong and stable economy', driven by fiscal strength, a positive investment climate and ongoing economic diversification. The 2025 index reveals a growing divergence in Soft Power potential between nations, with stronger ones – like China – advancing faster while weaker ones – like Kiribati – falling further behind. The top ten gained an average of +0.9 points in their Soft Power scores, while the bottom ten saw a sharp decline of -3.0 points. Soft Power is defined as a nation's ability to influence the preferences and behaviours of various actors in the international arena (states, corporations, communities, publics etc) through attraction or persuasion rather than coercion. Each nation is scored across 55 different metrics to arrive at an overall score out of 100 and ranked in order from 1st to 193rd.
Associated Press
09-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
China's unwavering opening-up efforts unlock global opportunities
BEIJING, March 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily: China has unveiled a 2025 action plan to stabilize foreign investment, outlining 20 policy initiatives across four strategic priorities: phased expansion of autonomous market opening, enhanced investment facilitation, functional upgrades to open-economy platforms, and service system optimization. International observers have largely interpreted the move as reinforcing China's commitment to institutional opening-up, with analysts noting its alignment with global investors' calls for predictable regulatory frameworks. Opening up is a fundamental national policy of China and a defining feature of Chinese modernization. It profoundly enriches the path and unlocks new frontiers of Chinese modernization. This trajectory builds on four decades of calibrated openness – from the experimental zones of the 1980s to today's network of 21 pilot free trade zones and cross-continental BRI corridors. Each phase has systematically addressed structural bottlenecks while creating new value chains, aligning with the trend of economic globalization and shaping new models of international cooperation. Since the start of the new era, China has pursued more proactive opening up policies, achieving historic milestones and transformations. The country has advanced a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth. According to the Global Soft Power Index 2025 released by British consultancy Brand Finance, China has ranked first globally for four consecutive years in 'easy to do business with' and 'future growth potential.' Through continuous opening up, China's economy has become deeply integrated with the global economy, serving as a major engine for global growth. Over the past five years, China has contributed around 30 percent to global economic growth, being the largest driver of global development. Research by the International Monetary Fund indicated that China's economic growth has a spillover effect -- when China's growth rate rises by 1 percentage point, growth in other countries increases by around 0.3 percentage points. China's strategic pursuit of high-level economic openness is transforming its colossal domestic market into a catalyst for global growth. Recent corporate expansions underscore this shift: Tesla has commenced operations at its inaugural overseas energy storage Gigafactory in Shanghai; Siemens Healthineers is developing a cutting-edge medical equipment research and production hub in Shenzhen; while Yum China aims to nearly double its mainland outlets to 20,000 within two years. The nation's expansive, multi-dimensional consumer base continues to fortify foreign enterprises' long-term commitments. Notably, China's December 2024 implementation of zero-tariff access for 98% of imports from eligible least-developed nations triggered an 18.1% monthly surge in procurement from these economies. This policy framework not only enhances trade reciprocity but systematically integrates emerging markets into value chains. China now serves as the principal commercial partner for more than 150 nations and regions globally, cementing its position as a pivotal node in global commerce. This trajectory of openness positions China's growth as an accelerant for worldwide economic advancement. The nation's commitment to elevated openness transcends conventional economic policies, encompassing the sharing of developmental frameworks, institutional innovations, and transnational public goods. Amid a global climate of escalating unilateralism and protectionist measures, China persists as a stabilizing force—methodically deepening international collaboration through its domestic progress while championing structural reforms to fortify an inclusive global economic architecture. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), conceived as a transnational public good, originated from China's drive for enhanced openness in its contemporary era. It has catalyzed deeper global economic interdependence and reciprocal growth, garnering international acclaim as a 'revitalized paradigm of economic globalization.' By pursuing elevated openness, China not only disseminates the dividends of its progress but also assumes a proactive role in recalibrating global governance frameworks—advancing the realization of a community with a shared future for mankind through institutionalized cooperation. This approach underscores an alignment of national development with multilateral imperatives, reinforcing China's stewardship in shaping equitable international systems. Spanning infrastructure interconnectivity, trade liberalization and facilitation, financial harmonization, regulatory alignment, and cultural exchange, China is systematically propagating the ethos of open development and reciprocal collaboration across nations. This multidimensional engagement not only fosters collective prosperity among emerging economies but also advocates for an equitable, rules-based multipolar world order—advancing an inclusive model of economic globalization that prioritizes broad-based dividends. Guided by a novel paradigm of universal benefit, China positions openness as a conduit and mutual advancement as the connective tissue of international relations. By synchronizing its institutional reforms with global developmental imperatives, the nation is poised to propel sustained momentum into worldwide growth trajectories, architecting a future where cooperative frameworks underpin shared prosperity. This calibrated strategy reaffirms China's role as both participant and innovator in redefining 21st-century economic governance.
