Hong Kong bounced back to rank 7th globally in digital competitiveness on the strength of its advances in knowledge, technology and "future readiness", according to survey released on Thursday.

The special administrative region climbed three places in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR) 2024, published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

“Following a one-rank decline in 2023, Hong Kong SAR bounces back strongly in this edition of the WDCR, achieving its best ranking in the last three years to position itself in 7th, up three places,” the survey report reads.

It said Hong Kong ranked fifth in “Knowledge”, third in “Technology”, and 15th in “Future Readiness” among the 67 economies covered by the survey.

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“These improvements are driven by the strong performance seen at the sub-factor level, where Hong Kong demonstrates positive developments in more than half of the recorded categories, namely: Training & Education, Capital, Adaptive Attitudes, Business Agility, and IT Integration,” the report said.

It added that Hong Kong’s main strengths are in educational attainment (ranked 4th), measured via PISA (the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment) math scores; the number of graduates in sciences (1st); the number of high-tech patent grants (2nd); the ease of starting a business (4th); the quality and speed of wireless broadband (3rd); and its banking and financial services (5th).

The city also saw improvements in employee training (up nine places to 23rd spot) and the use of big data and analytics (also up nine places to rank 14th).

"The IMD's WDCR 2024 recognized that Hong Kong remains one of the most digitally competitive economies in the world,” a Hong Kong SAR government spokesman said in a statement.

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He said the National 14th Five-Year Plan indicates clear support for Hong Kong's development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) center. 

“I&T is a core element in cultivating new quality productive forces and also a key impetus for Hong Kong's high-quality economic development,” the spokesman said. 

“As home to five of the world’s top 100 universities, Hong Kong possesses world-class research and development capabilities and I&T infrastructure, as well as a diverse talent pool,” he added. 

The spokesman said the abundant networks and opportunities available in Hong Kong and the synergies with its sister cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area further enhance its appeal as a leading I&T destination.

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He also noted that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his 2024 Policy Address a series of measures aimed at building a more comprehensive I&T ecosystem in the territory, including setting up a HK$10 billion ($1.29 billion) I&T Industry-Oriented Fund to channel more market capital to invest in specified emerging strategic industries.