The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has advanced seven places in the overall competitiveness of its economy within just one year, becoming the 12th most competitive nation globally, according to the 2014-15 Global Competitiveness Report.

The UAE is currently ahead of developed economies such as Denmark, Canada, France, South Korea and Taiwan, as well as developing countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. The nation also leads all the Middle East and North African (Mena) countries.

The UAE leads globally in a number of indicators in the report issued by the World Economic Forum: First globally in quality of the roads and the absence of organised crime; first globally for having the lowest rate of inflation; second globally for government procurement of advanced technology; second globally for the effectiveness of government spending, and the impact of taxes on investment and the lack of trade barriers; and second for the quality of its infrastructure in the aviation sector.

The UAE came in third place globally on indicators such as citizens' confidence in government and leadership, the absence of government bureaucracy, the quality of ports, efficiency of customs procedures, attracting technology through foreign direct investment (FDI).

Significantly, for the knowledge economy, UAE ranked third globally for attracting professional talent. Overall, the UAE improved its performance in 78 indicators out of 114.

Commenting on the report, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said the UAE has progressed in several areas because of the hard work of federal and local teams who are working as one, equipped with a vision that extends to the year 2021; our agendas and sector strategies change continuously as our ambitions keep growing.

"Despite the many challenges facing our region, our main focus has been, and will remain on progress, and developing our economy for the on-going welfare of our citizens. Our message to those around us is that the key to true stability lies in the creation of real development."

The UAE showed significant success in all overarching pillars of the report, over the last year. It ranked second (up from 4th)  in basic requirements which measures the readiness of regulations and institutions, infrastructure, health and primary education; in efficiency enhancers which evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education systems, labour market, financial market and technological readiness, the UAE ranked 14th globally up from 20th, and 21st (up from 24th) in innovation and sophistication.

The report assesses 144 countries on their ability to provide high levels of prosperity and welfare to its citizens, along a series of performance indicators which evaluates the country’s ability to provide the suitable infrastructure for investments.