Saudi Arabia climbs global trade rankings in 2026 competitiveness report

Saudi Arabia has achieved top global rankings in indicators related to the Ministry of Commerce, according to the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook. The Kingdom ranked third worldwide for legislative support in company formation, fourth for economic opportunity equality, and seventh for the efficiency of large companies by international standards.

The Kingdom improved its position compared to last year's report, rising one spot in legislative support for company formation, three places in economic opportunity equality, and two spots in large company efficiency.

Progress in global and G20 rankings

The report noted that Saudi Arabia advanced to 13th place globally out of 70 countries, and ranked third among G20 nations, following the United States and China.

Business-friendly reforms and legislation

The report attributed these results to public-private sector collaboration in streamlining business operations and empowering commercial enterprises to continue their growth and expansion, alongside ongoing improvements to the legislative environment.

In this context, 110 key regulations have been reviewed and updated, including the Companies Law and its bylaws, the Commercial Register Law, the Trade Names Law, the Franchise Law, the E-Commerce Law, and the Commercial Courts Law. Other notable reforms include the Secured Transactions Law, the Bankruptcy Law, and the executive regulations for the Precious Metals and Gemstones Law.