India’s global talent competitiveness ranking falls to 103 out of 134 countries

India’s talent competitiveness ranking fell from 83rd place out of 103 countries in 2013 to 103rd place out of 134 countries in 2023, as per The Global Talent Competitiveness Index by business school INSEAD.

India remained at the lowest position among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries on the index.

The competitiveness index – which measures how countries grow, attract and retain talent – is an annual benchmarking report published by the business school. It defines “talent competitiveness” as a set of policies and practices that enable a country to develop, attract, and empower “the human capital that contributes to productivity and prosperity”.

The index is calculated based on two sub-indices – input and output. The input framework measures countries’ regulatory and business environments, as well as what they are doing to attract, grow and retain talent. The output framework measures the quality of talent in a country.

In this year’s report, India’s ranking has fallen in the long-term trends of talent competitiveness.

To analyse how talent competitiveness has changed over time, the report compared the countries’ performance in the two halves over the past decade – 2013 to 2018 and 2019 to 2023. While India was in the 88th position in the 2013-18 period, it slipped to 89th in the next one.

“In the years to 2020, India saw its talent competitiveness increase, but it has regressed in each of the three years since,” the report said. “ A major reason for this fall in GTCI rankings is a slump in business sentiment, which has had a detrimental effect on the ability to attract talent, whether that is talent from overseas or from within the country.”

While China remained the leading member of the BRICS group in the 40th place, it was followed by the Russian Federation, which was ranked 52nd. While South Africa was ranked at 68th place, Brazil was ranked at 69th position.

European countries continue to dominate the top positions of the index. Switzerland retains its first-place position this year, followed by Singapore, and the United States. “This has been the most common constellation in the top three over the past decade,” the report said.

The non-European countries that have made it into the top 25 rankings are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Israel. For the first time, the bracket does not include Japan. Instead, South Korea has jumped up the rankings, also for the first time.