#Singapore #GTCI #Talent Competitiveness

Singapore Tops Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Singapore has officially claimed the top spot in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2025, surpassing Switzerland. This notable achievement can be attributed to Singapore's ability to cultivate a workforce that is adaptable and ready for the challenges posed by digitalization and innovation in the era of artificial intelligence.

This year marks the first time that the city-state has led the annual ranking, which was initiated by INSEAD in 2013 as a benchmark to guide policy-making related to labor markets and talent mobility.

The GTCI report highlights the ongoing dominance of high-income European economies, which typically feature prominently in the top rankings. However, this year also saw a significant decline for larger economies including the United States, which fell from its previous third place to ninth.

The 2025 GTCI report, themed "Resilience in Times of Disruption," is the eleventh in the series since its inception in 2013. It examines how nations build talent systems capable of withstanding shocks and challenges. The rankings cover 135 countries and evaluate them based on 77 indicators, including soft skills and the concentration of AI talent across six key dimensions: talent inclusion, attraction, development, retention, as well as professional and technical skills, alongside general adaptive skills.

Felipe Monteiro, academic director of GTCI and senior affiliated professor of strategy at INSEAD, emphasized that true talent resilience transforms adversities into a catalyst for innovation and renewed purpose. "Resilience is about learning to strive forward rather than merely bounce back from inevitable shocks and crises," he noted.

Lily Fang, Dean of Research and Innovation at INSEAD, pointed out that this year’s report should be perceived as more than just a competition among nations. It offers leaders thoughtful insights into integrating powerful technologies like AI with grand ambitions for human progress.

The 2025 rankings also mark the onset of a new partnership between INSEAD and the Portulans Institute, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit research organization. Rafael Escalona Reynoso, CEO of the Portulans Institute, remarked that this collaboration brings new depth and clarity to GTCI, especially amid rapid technological changes, geopolitical uncertainty, and profound social shifts that make reliable measures of talent more crucial than ever.

Singapore's Advantages

Singapore's excellence in the latest ranking stems from its continuously evolving educational system and its visionary approach to nurturing an adaptive and innovative workforce. The GTCI report indicates that Singapore ranked first for overall adaptive skills, equipping its workforce with soft skills, digital literacy, and innovative thinking—traits essential for today’s fast-paced landscape. Also, Singapore's talent retention capability increased by seven spots, reaching 31st place.

Paul Evans, distinguished professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and co-editor of the report, explained that economies cultivating an adaptable, cross-functional, and AI-literate workforce are typically positioned better to transform disruptions into opportunities and maintain long-term competitiveness. The findings underscore that talent competitiveness is shaped not only by income levels but also by strategic policy orientation, institutional quality, and effective mobilization of human capital resources.

Top 20 Countries in GTCI 2025

1. Singapore
2. Switzerland
3. Denmark
4. Finland
5. Sweden
6. Netherlands
7. Norway
8. Luxembourg
9. United States
10. Australia
11. Ireland
12. United Kingdom
13. Iceland
14. Canada
15. Belgium
16. Austria
17. Germany
18. New Zealand
19. France
20. Czech Republic

Leveraging Investment for Impact

One of the defining messages of GTCI 2025, corroborated by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, is that the ability to translate investments into meaningful results signifies which economies will excel in the race for talent. Countries like Israel, along with Singapore and South Korea, have been recognized for achieving exceptional talent outcomes with fewer resources. Interestingly, some low-income countries, including Tajikistan, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, also demonstrated robust foundations for talent development.

Evans highlighted that economies aligning education, labor, and innovation systems with adaptive talent development can achieve high performance even with modest income levels.

Regional Insights

In terms of regional standings, Europe continues to dominate with 18 of the top 25 positions, showcasing major economies like Germany (17th), France (19th), and the United Kingdom (12th). In Asia and Oceania, Australia (10th) and New Zealand (18th) surpassed Singapore in talent retention but lagged behind in overall adaptive skills. The fall of China from 40th to 53rd reflects a less favorable business climate and job market, although insufficient data may have contributed to this decline.

North America also showcases strong capacities for developing and deploying skilled personnel across sectors, evident in the robust rankings of the US (9th) and Canada (14th), despite the US showing weaker results compared to 2023.

Israel leads North Africa and West Asia at 23rd, while the UAE, at 25th, is foremost in talent attraction and skill development, albeit lacking in high-level skills.

Chile stood first in Latin America and the Caribbean at 39th, followed by Uruguay (42nd) and Costa Rica (44th). Notably, neither Brazil nor Mexico, the two largest economies in the region, made it to the top 50.

Looking ahead, Escalona Reynoso remarked on the importance of adaptive capabilities, collaboration, interdisciplinary thinking, innovating under pressure, and navigating rapidly evolving, technology-driven environments. "These are the skills increasingly defining a country’s competitiveness—GTCI reflects this reality more clearly than ever before."

For further details on the GTCI 2025 findings, please visit INSEAD’s publication and follow the conversation online.