Romania ranks 51st in the global talent competitiveness ranking, while Switzerland, Luxembourg and Iceland hold the top positions, according to the '2025 IMD World Talent Ranking' (WTR), quoted by the CIT-IRECSON Technological Information Center.

The international ranking shows that Romania stands 52nd in the 'Investment and Development' factor (up four places from 2024), 43rd in 'Appeal' (up seven spots) and 53rd in 'Readiness,' maintaining the same position as the previous year.

'Performance in the 'Investment and Development' factor improved mainly due to the student-teacher ratio in secondary education (with Romania ranking 13th in 2025 for this indicator) and the prioritization of employee training within companies (ranked 36th). However, education spending remains low at just 3.3 percent of GDP, and the healthcare infrastructure struggles to meet societal needs. The 7-place rise in the 2025 'Appeal' factor is primarily attributed to the relatively low cost of living compared to other countries analyzed (Romania ranks 15th), the low share of personal income tax in GDP (18th), lower pollution levels than in many countries (30th) and a gross monthly minimum wage of 804 USD, ranking Romania 31st. On the other hand, the attractiveness of Romania's business environment for foreign skilled professionals, as well as executive compensation (salary, bonuses and long-term incentives) averaging around 90,500 USD per year, ranking the country 50th,' according to a release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

Regarding the 'Readiness' factor, Romania stands out particularly for the share of graduates in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), which is 28.36 percent - ranking 17th for this indicator and for language skills that largely meet employers' needs (Romania ranks 30th).

'On the other hand, management education meets the needs of the business community to a very limited extent (Romania ranks 58th for this indicator), while the workforce has decreased by 1.43 percent compared to last year, placing the country 64th. The WTR results highlight the need for the Romanian society to continue reforms and develop policies aimed at fostering, attracting and retaining human capital in order to support Romania's competitiveness. In a world where talent is increasingly mobile, selective and in high demand, the economies that remain static or fail to adapt risk falling behind,' the CIT-IRECSON experts noted.

According to the '2025 IMD World Talent Ranking,' Switzerland maintains its position as global leader since 2024, Luxembourg returns to 2nd place, while Iceland rises from sixth place in 2024 to 3rd place.

The WTR ranking assesses the ability of 69 economies to develop, attract and retain the human capital needed to support competitiveness, using statistical data from official sources and insights from the business community, represented by 6,162 executive managers. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Badea; EN - writing by: Rodica State)