India Climbs Up to 51st Spot in World Talent Rankings

India has climbed up three spots in the World Talent Rankings 2017, a new study conducted by the IMD World Competitiveness Center revealed on Nov. 21. India now figures at the 51st place when it comes to attracting, developing and retaining talent.

The study shows the overall ranking of 63 economies and analyses methods used by them to attract and retain talent that businesses need to thrive. This is done on basis of three categories: investment and development, appeal and readiness. These categories include education, apprenticeships, workplace training, language skills, cost of living, quality of life, remuneration and tax rates, according to the report.

The study was conducted using a survey of thousands of executives from the different countries, and data spanning over two decades from the IMD World Competitiveness Center, a business education school based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Two new economies — Cyprus and Saudi Arabia — were included in the survey this year.

Among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, Indian, China and South Africa) countries, China leads at 40th rank, closely followed by Russia (43rd), South Africa (48th), India (51st) and Brazil (52nd). South Africa has fared better than India among the BRICs countries due to many indices such as its expenditure in education, cost of education, cost-of-living index, labor force growth and personal income tax rate, the survey said.

European economies continued to lead, largely due to their education systems. While Switzerland, Denmark and Belgium were the most competitive economies in 2017, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg occupied the top 10 positions.

Germany is a key player in maintaining Europe’s talent competitiveness, according to the study. The country is one of the largest exporters of talent and the also attracts talent from across the world. “Despite criticism from some quarters surrounding immigration, Germany’s policies sustain its access to the international talent pool,” Arturo Bris, the Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center, said in a statement. “However, with the European crisis still taking its toll on the German economy, the country has slightly decreased its total expenditure on public education.”

Bris added that despite high quality of life, good educational system, and great investment in the public sector, Nordic countries fail to appeal to foreign talent, mainly due to their high cost of living.

The United States was ranked 16th when it came to appealing foreign talent. This was due to the high quality of life, good career opportunities and high levels of remuneration offered by America. The survey revealed that the United States, however, needs to invest more in public education and nurturing local talent.