Denmark still elite when it comes to generating talent

Danes rank second behind the Swiss on the World Talent Report

Nov 19, 2015

Denmark remains one of the top nations in the world at developing talent, according to the new World Talent Report 2015 (here in English).

The report, published annually by the Swiss business school IMD, ranked Denmark second in the world behind Switzerland and ahead of Luxembourg, Norway and the Netherlands.

Denmark was ranked first for investment and development, ninth in terms of appeal and sixth for readiness. The criteria which pulled Denmark down was its cost of living index (ranked 55th), its effective personal income tax rate (61th) and attracting foreign highly-skilled workers (31st).

“It’s always nice to be able to bask in a solid ranking, but in terms of our considerable challenges in attracting highly-skilled workers and qualified labour, there is a huge need for us to intensify our focus and understanding that the world is a massive talent pool,” said Charlotte Rønhof, the deputy head of industry advocacy organisation Dansk Industri.

Second since 2012
Denmark also struggled in the PISA education assessment for 15-year-olds (22nd) and for labour force growth (30th).

Denmark was ranked third on the World Talent Report back in 2011, but it has been ranked second every time since 2012.

Finland, Germany, Canada, Belgium and Singapore rounded up the top 10 in the rankings, while other notables included Sweden (11), China Hong Kong (12), Australia (13), USA (14), UK (21), Japan (26), France (27), South Korea (31), China Mainland (40), Russia (45), South Africa (51), India (52) and Brazil (57).