AUSTRIA: Competitiveness Dashboard
Here’s a deep-dive competitiveness profile for Austria, applying our framework—Composite Index + Temporal Analysis + Action Mapping—using the latest data:
1. 🇦🇹 Strategic Composite Index
IMD World Competitiveness (2024): Austria ranks 26th out of 67 economies, slipping from 24th in 2023 .
Digital Competitiveness (IMD 2024): Positioned at 25th, scoring 72.9, behind EU leaders like Switzerland and Denmark .
WEF Global Competitiveness Index (2023): Austria ranks 21st, showing strengths in macro stability, infrastructure, institutions—but lags in digital networking, corporate finance, and dynamics .
Composite Snapshot:
- Economic Performance: High GDP per capita (~ €61 k nominal / ~ $75 k PPP), but slowed growth (0.4% in 2024) imd.org+3en.wikipedia.org+3tradingeconomics.com+3.
- Digital Readiness: Moderate; digital score trails Nordic and Western EU peers.
- Institutional Strength: Excellent infrastructure, apprenticeship systems, and public services cedakenticomedia.blob.core.windows.netwifo.ac.at+3investinaustria.at+3imd.org+3.
- Macro‑financial foundations: Stable public finances; corporate tax reduced to 23% in 2024 investinaustria.at+1ceda.com.au+1.
- Governance & Trust: CPI score of 67 in 2024—a drop from 77 in 2019—placing Austria 25th among 180 countries en.wikipedia.org.
2. 📈 Temporal Analysis
👉 Rankings & Trends:
- IMD Competitiveness: Dropped from 24th → 26th (2023→2024) en.wikipedia.org+11de.wikipedia.org+11ersj.eu+11.
- Digital Ranking: Stable at 25th in 2023–2024 de.wikipedia.org+3cedakenticomedia.blob.core.windows.net+3cedakenticomedia.blob.core.windows.net+3.
- WEF GCI: Minor uplift to 21st in 2023, indicating consistent but not rising competitiveness .
👉 Macro‑Economic Trends:
- GDP growth: Strong rebound 4.8% in 2022; softening to –0.7% in 2023 and marginal 0.4% in 2024 en.wikipedia.org.
- R&D intensity: R&D/GDP at 3.22% (2023), up from 1.88% in 2000—impressive growth investinaustria.at.
- Institutional trust: CPI dip of 10 points since 2019 poses emerging concerns .
3. 🚦 SWOT Overview
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| High-quality STEM education & apprenticeships (top‑3 IMD) | Digital connectivity and business finance lag peers |
| Strong infrastructure, health system, and living standards | Competitiveness ranking slipped, growth is stagnating |
| Attractive R&D tax incentives, corporate tax cut to 23% | Corruption perception declined; risk to institutional trust |
| Excel in talent retention; Vienna is top-tier for livability | Reliance on low-speed EU integration for digital transformation |
4. 🧩 Country Rank in EU Context
- Falls behind top-tier peers (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands) across composite metrics.
- Currently mid-table among EU-27: ~ 20th–25th in global competitiveness, ~ 25th for digital.
- Prospects depend on addressing digital and governance gaps while capitalizing on institutional strengths.
5. 🛠️ Action Mapping & Recommendations
🔹 Digital Ecosystem Enhancement
- Invest in national broadband and 5G, targeting SMEs to adopt Industry 4.0 solutions.
- Launch digital/green voucher programs for small enterprises.
🔹 Financial Efficiency & Innovation
- Streamline access to venture capital and instruments like green bonds.
- Build scale-up platforms for high-growth tech startups.
🔹 Governance & Trust Rebuilding
- Improve public procurement transparency and institutional oversight.
- Promote CPI-monitoring dashboards and anti-corruption frameworks.
🔹 Leverage Education-Industry Linkages
- Expand apprenticeship schemes into AI, cybersecurity, biotech—build on current excellence investchile.gob.cl+12cedakenticomedia.blob.core.windows.net+12cedakenticomedia.blob.core.windows.net+12en.wikipedia.orginvestinaustria.at.
- Incentivize university-business R&D partnerships, similar to Austria’s high foreign R&D project share .
🔹 Stimulate Growth & EU Integration
- Foster regional innovation clusters in Vienna, Linz, Graz for green‑tech and advanced manufacturing.
- Align with EU Digital Decade and Capital Markets Union to attract investment.
✅ Conclusion
Austria is a stable, high-income, innovation-capable economy with excellent institutional foundations and human capital. Yet it’s stagnating in digital readiness, financial dynamism, and global competitiveness rankings, even as macroeconomic and trust metrics weaken.
By investing strategically in digital infrastructure, fintech, scale-up financing, and anti-corruption measures—while leveraging its vocational, R&D, and infrastructural strengths—Austria can ascend from mid-table to peer with Europe’s most competitive economies within 3–5 years.
🇦🇹 Austria: National Competitiveness Timeline (2015–2024)
Here is the Austria Competitiveness Timeline Dashboard (2015–2024), showing the composite competitiveness score trend.
🧭 Policy Implementation Roadmap (2025–2027)
🎯 Objective: Regain Top-20 Global Competitiveness Position by 2027
| Timeline | Strategic Pillar | Key Actions | Responsible Stakeholders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | Digital Acceleration | Launch national 5G + SME digitization fund | Ministry of Digital Affairs, AWS |
| Q4 2025 | Innovation Financing | Scale up VC-friendly reforms & GreenTech funds | Ministry of Finance, FFG |
| Q1 2026 | Governance Reforms | Anti-corruption dashboard, procurement reform | Parliament, BKA |
| Q2 2026 | STEM-AI Skills Push | Expand AI/vocational hybrid apprenticeships | Ministry of Education, Industry Alliances |
| Q3 2026 | Regional Clusters | Linz-Graz-Vienna as GreenTech + AI Hubs | State Governments, WKO |
| Q1 2027 | EU Investment Leverage | Align national growth plan with Digital Decade & CMU | EU Council Coordination Unit |
