Singapore tops the 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Singapore tops the 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index by INSEAD and the Portulans Institute.

Calvin Chan Wai Meng | E+ | Getty Images

Singapore has claimed the top spot in 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) is, for the first time, bolstered by its strong education system, good governance and a proactive approach to sustaining an adaptive, innovation-ready workforce in the age of artificial intelligence.

In its 11th edition this year, the index — created by business school INSEAD and in partnership with DC-based think tank Portulance Institute — measured how countries grow, attract and retain talent across all income groups.

This year’s report, themed “Resilience in an Age of Disruption”, ranks 135 economies globally on 77 indicators such as soft skills and AI talent concentration across six pillars.

The report comes at a time when “rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty and profound social transitions make reliable talent metrics more essential than ever,” said Rafael Escalona Reynoso, CEO of the Portulance Institute.

While historians can give us more perspective, it certainly seems as if we are living in a period of maximum disruption and anxiety.

Lily Fang

Dean of Research and Innovation, INSEAD

“While historians can give us more perspective, it certainly seems as if we are living in a period of maximum disruption and anxiety,” said Lily Feng, INSEAD’s dean of research and innovation. “Geopolitical uncertainty poses major challenges to global commerce and the resilience of markets, while artificial intelligence presents both incredible opportunities to enhance human potential – but also unpredictable risks.”

Here are the top 10 countries in the 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index:

Singapore
Switzerland
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
The Netherlands
Norway
Luxembourg
United States
Australia

Notably, Switzerland was leapfrogged by Singapore and dropped from its top spot for the first time in GTCI history. However, the country recorded multiple top-five results in the study framework, including internet access in schools (1st), government effectiveness (2nd), and AI skills migration (4th).

High-income European countries continue to dominate the rankings, occupying seven of the top ten positions.

According to the report, “Switzerland, Denmark and Finland follow each other closely in the top ten, suggesting a shared focus on enabling and retaining talent through favorable conditions and access to opportunities.” All three countries consistently rank near the top in enabling and retaining talent.

Since the last GTCI in 2023 several Nordic countries have finished in the top ten. Denmark moved up one place to third place this year from fourth place. 2023 reportFinland jumped two places from 6th to 4th and Sweden jumped four places from 9th in 2023 to fourth this year.

Meanwhile, the United States fell from third place in 2023 to ninth place in this year’s report – its weakest showing since 2013.

Although the U.S. scored strongly in areas such as enabling and growing talent, “slight declines in the categories of openness and lifelong learning” pushed the country to ninth place in 2025, according to the report.

Singapore takes the lead

Singapore’s rise is a major milestone for both the country and the wider region in the race for talent, the report said.

The city-state “ranked in the top ten in four of the six pillars and has significantly improved its ability to retain talent, rising seven places,” the report said. The Southeast Asian country is also a global leader in attracting and retaining talent, supported by the country’s regulatory landscape and high living standards.

The country also ranked first globally in formal education and “generalist adaptive skills”, which span soft skills, digital literacy and innovation-oriented thinking.

The main driver of Singapore’s jump this year is a sharp improvement in its ability to retain talent, jumping seven places from 38th in 2023 to 31st this year. The report highlights gains in areas such as physician density, individual rights, personal safety and more.

“Economies that develop an adaptive, cross-functional and AI-literate workforce are better positioned to transform disruption into opportunity and sustain long-term competitiveness,” says Paul Evans, emeritus professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and co-author of the report.