Hong Kong ranks 11th globally and fourth in Asia on the World Digital and AI Ranking (WDAIR) 2026 Index, published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
The city ranks within the top 10 on the WDAIR 2026 Index for workforce development (second), efficiency (fifth), and technology and infrastructure (10th).
It also ranks first globally on the index in three subcategories – technological framework, practices and education and training – and ranks among the world’s top 10 in talent (fifth), societal attitudes (sixth) and regulatory framework (eighth).
The United States emerged as the world’s leading AI-ready economy, with Singapore and the Netherlands taking the second and third spots, respectively.
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The Hong Kong Special Administrative government, responding to the WDAIR 2026 Index’s recognition of the city as one of the world’s most competitive economies for digital and artificial intelligence development, said on Wednesday that the SAR’s first five-year plan sets out a vision for developing Hong Kong into an international center for innovation and technology, with the full backing of the central authorities.
“Hong Kong will also advance new industrialization having regard to local circumstances, with a view to establishing a framework with Hong Kong characteristics for the development of new industrialization, as well as take forward the AI+ initiative on all fronts, enhance the layout of computing infrastructure, support small and medium-sized enterprises in accelerating their adoption of AI, and empower different sectors of the economy through AI technology,” a government spokesman said in a statement.
To support upstream research, the SAR government will build on the “dual base” advantages of the city’s InnoHK Research Clusters and State Key Laboratories, and advance the development of the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research and Development Institute, the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute and the Life and Health Technology Research Institute.
“We will also enhance the AI ecosystem from multiple dimensions, including computing power, funding and risk management,” the spokesman said, adding that construction of the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster is underway and the cluster is expected to be fully operational by 2032 or earlier, providing computing power of 180,000 petaflops per second, equivalent to 36 times Hong Kong’s current computing power.
The SAR government has also launched an AI Subsidy Scheme to support the industry in using high-performance computing power for frontier research and is optimizing the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to provide matching subsidies to support more small and medium enterprises in applying AI and cybersecurity solutions, said the spokesman.
Highlighting the government’s work to build digitally-led public services, the spokesman said the iAM Smart platform – which provides access to more than 1,400 online services – has achieved the goal of a single portal for online government services, with daily usage exceeding 220,000 interactions.
The AI Efficacy Enhancement Team, meanwhile, is driving government departments to apply AI technology, facilitating 30 projects involving 13 departments so far.
“Going forward, the HKSAR government will continue to promote closer collaboration among the government and the industry, academia, research and investment sectors, consolidate and enhance our competitive edge in the global market, and provide the public with more convenient, efficient and reliable public services,” said the spokesman.
The IMD – a prestigious Swiss business school known for its benchmark global competitiveness evaluations – updated its evaluation framework this year from the former World Digital Competitiveness Ranking to the WDAIR, incorporating AI adoption, governance and ethics metrics, with historical rankings retroactively adjusted back to 2022.
