Three international references specialized in competitiveness have included the UAE among the top 20 countries in the world in 12 indicators related to the national accounts sector for the year 2020. The indicators adopted by the recent annual reports of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Economic Forum, and the International Institute for Management Development cover various aspects of national accounts, ranging from dynamics of Gross National Income per capita, foreign central government debt, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, to the trade-to-GDP ratio.
**First Place**
The monitoring conducted by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre shows that the UAE ranked first globally in debt dynamics, as recorded in the "Global Competitiveness Report 4.0" published by the World Economic Forum. The UAE also secured the top position globally in foreign central government debt according to the Annual Competitiveness Report released by the International Institute for Management Development. The report also listed the UAE in fifth place in global GDP per capita, as well as in total general government debt. Furthermore, the UAE ranked eighth globally in current account competitiveness relative to GDP, tenth in overall productivity (Purchasing Power Parity), and eleventh in trade-to-GDP ratio, distinguishing the UAE as a leader among countries in the Middle East and North Africa in international trade.
**Facing Challenges**
In its forecast for actual GDP growth, despite the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the global economy in 2020, the Global Competitiveness Report published by the International Institute for Management Development ranked the UAE 14th in the world. This ranking reflects the UAE's capacity to face challenges and maintain sustainable development. It was also classified in the same ranking for current account balance. In the assessment of per capita purchasing power and actual growth, the UAE was ranked 20th globally.
**Purchasing Power**
The Global Human Development Report issued by the United Nations Development Programme ranked the UAE's per capita purchasing power in the economic cycle seventh worldwide.
