- Bulletin 26-2: IMD World Competitiveness Rankings 2026
- ESRI publishes new research on SME Financing
- ESRI publishes new research on AI adoption among Irish SMEs
- Bulletin 26-1: Public Investment in Transport Infrastructure: A Competitiveness and Productivity Perspective
- Appointment of new Chair of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council
- Bulletin 25-5: Benchmarking the Performance of Ireland’s Public Administration, 2024
- NCPC Welcomes Publication of Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan
- Budget 2026 and Competitiveness: Navigating Uncertainty
- NCPC Welcomes Government's Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity
- Call for Expressions of Interest - Member of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council
- Bulletin 25-4: IMD World Competitiveness Rankings
- Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge 2025
- The Chair presents to the second annual Competitiveness Summit of Ministers hosted by the Taoiseach
- Bulletin 25-3: The Competitiveness Implications of Post-Pandemic Learning Losses
- Bulletin 25-2: Re-estimating Ireland’s International Competitiveness Performance
- Retrospective Review, 2020-2023
- NCPC's South-East Regional Seminar
- Bulletin 25-1: Developments in Ireland's National Productivity Statistics
- The Government Response to Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2024
- Budget 2025 and Competitiveness: Investing in Ireland’s Future Prosperity
- NCPC Chair attends the Competitiveness Summit
- Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge 2024
- Bulletin 24-4 IMD World Competitiveness Rankings
- Bulletin 24-3 Competitiveness and the Housing Market in Ireland
- NCPC's Mid-West Regional Seminar
- NCPC Welcomes DETE-ESRI Joint Economic Research Programme Seminar
- Bulletin 24-2 Ireland’s Competitiveness and Productivity Framework
- ESRI Publish Working Paper of DETE ESRI Joint Research Programme
- Bulletin 24-1 Re-estimating Ireland’s International Innovation Performance
Bulletin 26-2: IMD World Competitiveness Rankings 2026
The NCPC is pleased to publish Bulletin 26-2 on IMD World Competitiveness Rankings. This Bulletin provides an assessment of Ireland’s performance in the latest annual World Competitiveness Rankings by the IMD. This year’s IMD report ranks Ireland as the most competitive country in the euro zone area and the 7th most competitive economy in the world (out of 70 economies), maintaining last year's position.
Some of the Key Findings include:
- Ireland is ranked 7th out of 70 economies in the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook in 2026, remaining consistent with the 2025 ranking. Within the euro area, Ireland remained the most competitive.
- Ireland improved across almost all competitiveness trends, particularly under Business Efficiency where our position increased from 11th in 2025 to 5th in 2026, and Economic Performance where our ranking increases from 9th in 2025 to 2nd in 2026 mainly as a result of an increase in ranking associated with the Domestic Economy.
- Ireland’s ranking for Infrastructure worsened from 17th in 2025 to 19th in 2026, whereas Government Efficiency remained stable at 5th place for 2025 and 2026.
The NCPC is pleased to publish Bulletin 26-2 on IMD World Competitiveness Rankings. This Bulletin provides an assessment of Ireland’s performance in the latest annual World Competitiveness Rankings by the IMD, which were published today. Th...
Over the last month, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published two new research papers examining SME Financing. The papers, produced under the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and ESRI joint research progra...
On 29th April, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published a new paper examining factors influencing the uptake of artificial intelligence by Irish micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. The paper, produced under the D...
The NCPC is pleased to publish Bulletin 26-1 on Public Investment in Transport Infrastructure: A Competitiveness and Productivity Perspective. Transport infrastructure plays a key role in promoting economic competitiveness, productivity, an...
The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, has confirmed the appointment of Professor Alan Barrett as the new Chair of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC), effective 1 January 2026. Professor...
The NCPC is pleased to publish Bulletin 25-5 on Benchmarking the Performance of Ireland’s Public Administration. According to the recently published Blavatnik Index of Public Administration for 2024, Ireland ranked 14th out of 16 Western Eu...
Today (December 3rd 2025), the Government published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. This Action Plan represents a concerted attempt to address persistent delays and capacity constraints in Ireland’s infrastructure d...
The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council is pleased to announce the publication of Budget 2026 and Competitiveness: Navigating Uncertainty paper. This publication aims to emphasises that competitiveness continues to play a cent...
Today (September 10th, 2025), Dr. Frances Ruane, the Chair of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC), welcomed the publication by Government of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity. The Action Plan focus...
Expressions of interest are now being sought from suitably qualified persons with expertise for consideration for appointment as a Member of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council for a term of three years (renewable once at...