TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has been ranked as having the eighth-most competitive digital economy in the world by the Swiss business management school, the Institute for Management Development (IMD).

In IMD's World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2021, Taiwan rose to No. 8 out of 64 major countries in the world with a score of 92 out of 100. This marks the first time Taiwan has broken the top 10 and its best ranking since IMD began publishing its annual list in 2017.

Taiwan rises to No. 8 in digital competitiveness. (imd.org screenshot)

Ahead of Taiwan was the U.S. at No. 1, followed by Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Taiwan's No. 8 ranking was an improvement of three spots from its No. 11 ranking in 2020.

When it came to countries with populations over 20 million, Taiwan ranked even higher at No. 2 out of 29 nations, second only to the U.S., which is an improvement of one spot from 2020. Out of nations with a GDP per capita greater than US$20,000 (NT$556,000), Taiwan came in at No. 8 out of 33 countries.

Taiwan rated highest in technology factor. (imd.org screenshot)

The IMD ranking utilizes three major factors, nine sub-factors, and 51 criteria to measure the capacity and readiness of economies around the world to adapt, explore, and make full use of "digital transformation." The three major indicators are Knowledge, Technology, and Future Readiness.

The "technology" aspect is mainly used to measure the ability to develop digital innovative technologies. Taiwan ranked highly in this factor by placing No. 2 in the world, second only to Hong Kong and significantly improving three spots from No. 5 in 2020.