Next Generation Competitiveness Index
The Next Generation Competitiveness Index presents a future-focused tool providing an overview of the Central and Eastern European region for investors and actionable insights for policymakers. This index focuses on five countries - Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. By focusing on key areas such as innovation, sustainability, and institutional strength, the index offers a comprehensive view of what is required to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving global economy.
The competitiveness of EU countries is clearly divided by geographical lines with western Europe strongly outperforming the east. While Austria stands out as an exception within the CEE, ranking as a top performer across multiple categories, the rest of the region faces significant challenges. Austria's strengths are largely driven by its robust innovation capacity, significant investment in R&D, and a clean energy mix, all of which position it well for future competitiveness.
In contrast, the Visegrad Four countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) generally struggle with lower competitiveness, ranking in the bottom third of EU countries. Hungary, in particular, ranks lowest due to weak institutions, high corruption, and low labour productivity. Poland and Slovakia also contend with low labour productivity and innovation, alongside underdeveloped digital infrastructure.
Ensuring the CEE region does not fall further behind requires ramping up efforts to protect future competitiveness. Particular emphasis should be placed on boosting innovative capabilities, strengthening institutions, and harboring greater sustainability by replacing coal with renewable energy sources. This must be accompanied by improvements in the quality education and research capacities, as well as enhancing the region's digital infrastructure and services.
Read the full report in the pdf below.
