Bahrain has climbed six places to rank 38th globally in the 2025 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), cementing its status as a premier regional hub for skilled professionals and a leader in female empowerment.
With an overall score of 52.71, the kingdom outperformed the regional average for Northern Africa and Western Asia, ranking fifth in the region. The UAE is the top-ranked GCC country in 25th place, followed by Qatar (35), Bahrain (38), Saudi Arabia (48), Kuwait (51) and Oman (56).
The report, co-published by INSEAD and the Portulans Institute, lauded Bahrain’s high-income economic profile and its exceptional ability to attract international “brain gain,” where it secured the No 1 global ranking.
A major highlight of this year’s report is the kingdom’s top-tier performance in gender inclusivity. The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) hailed Bahrain’s first-place rank in the Arab world and Gulf region for “Women’s Leadership Opportunities.”
This metric, which measures equal access to senior roles and the availability of leadership positions, placed Bahrain 11th globally, outperforming its GCC peers.
In a statement, officials attributed the milestone to the national empowerment strategy led by the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty King Hamad. The council’s initiatives have successfully integrated women’s needs into national development through legislative frameworks and equal opportunity policies.
This achievement follows Bahrain’s significant 12-place jump in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, where it reached 104th place globally.
The GTCI report further highlighted Bahrain’s “mature and stable talent management systems,” ranking it alongside France and the UK for successfully balancing talent investment with tangible results.
Technological infrastructure remains a cornerstone of the kingdom’s competitiveness. Bahrain achieved No 1 global rankings for both ‘3G Mobile Network Coverage’ and ‘Internet Access in Schools’, while placing fifth globally for ‘Digital Skills’. The business environment also earned high marks, ranking ninth for labour-employer co-operation and 15th for the relationship between pay and productivity.
While Bahrain is already a world-class performer in professional development – ranking sixth globally for employee development – the report identifies a strategic roadmap for future growth. By expanding tertiary enrollment and enhancing university programmes, the kingdom is poised to cultivate a deeper pool of domestic specialists. Further gains are expected through targetted investments in environmental sustainability and healthcare to enhance lifestyle excellence, alongside a continued focus on institutional transparency to boost investor confidence.
The 2025 GTCI saw a historic shift at the top as Singapore overtook Switzerland for the No 1 spot, ending the Alpine nation’s 10-year streak. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden rounded out the top five. The report concludes that as technological and geopolitical shifts accelerate, the ability to build resilient, human-centered talent ecosystems has never been more critical for national competitiveness.
avinash@gdnmedia.bh
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