Entrepreneurship in Switzerland: Economic position

The Swiss economic position is regularly ranked among the best in the world in many fields, such as innovation, for example.

Switzerland is among the best economic areas in the world. Its geographic position at the heart of Europe, its quality of life, multilingualism, liberal laws, qualified workforce, and its higher education schools (hautes écoles) and first-rate research institutions make it a preferred place to establish and develop a company.

Switzerland thus ranks third in the 2023 World Competitiveness Ranking published by IMD. The European Commission also places the country at the top of the European innovation scoreboard 2023 (europa.eu). Furthermore, Switzerland ranks among the top positions in the global competitiveness ranking set out in the last Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Switzerland - a champion of innovation

Economists maintain that the innovative force of Switzerland is one of the main reasons for its economic success. The country, with its environment favorable to start-ups and its higher education schools and internationally known research institutions, is regularly ranked as a champion of innovation.

In 2023, the country placed 1st in the worldwide innovation index published by INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and 3rd place in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking. According to the European innovation scoreboard 2023, Switzerland is the best performing country in Europe, outperforming all EU member states. The Swiss Confederation ranks first in six indices: new doctorate graduates, international scientific co-publications, foreign doctorate students, public-private co-publications, medium and high-tech goods exports, and resource productivity.

Facility to conduct business

The 2020 edition of the Doing Business report by the World Bank, which measures the impact of regulations on SMEs, places Switzerland in a less favorable position than the IMD and WEF surveys mentioned above.

Source: Doing Business 2020, World Bank
The Doing Business project has been discontinued and is replaced by the Business Enabling Environment (BEE). The BEE Concept Note will be followed by the BEE Manual and Guide, which will be published by the second quarter of 2023.


Information

Last modification 11.12.2023

Top of page

https://www.kmu.admin.ch/content/kmu/en/home/concrete-know-how/facts-and-figures/figures-smes/entrepreneurship/economic-position.html