Hong Kong has been ranked 11th globally and fourth in Asia in the World Digital & AI Ranking (WDAIR) 2026 index, published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

Among the five factors under consideration, Hong Kong ranks inside the top 10 for workforce development, efficiency, and technology and infrastructure.

In terms of sub-factors, Hong Kong ranks top on technological framework (under technology and infrastructure), practices (under efficiency), and education and training (under workforce development). It also ranks inside the top 10 on talent (under workforce development), societal attitudes (under values) and regulatory framework (under governance).

The Government said that WDAIR 2026 recognises Hong Kong as one of the world’s most competitive economies for digital and AI development. It highlighted that Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan sets out a vision for the city’s development as an international centre for innovation and technology, one that has the full backing of the central authorities.

It iterated that Hong Kong will foster new industrialisation with regard for local circumstances, advance the Artificial Intelligence+ Initiative on all fronts, enhance computing infrastructure, support small-and-medium-sized enterprises in their adoption of AI, and empower different sectors of the economy through AI technology.

In terms of upstream research, the Government will build on the “dual base” advantages of the city’s InnoHK Research Clusters and State Key Laboratories, and advance the development of the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research & Development Institute, the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research & Development Institute and the Life & Health Technology Research Institute.

Meanwhile, the Government will accelerate the development of national strategic emerging industries and foster new quality productive forces, including through establishing Hong Kong’s first national manufacturing innovation centre.

It will also enhance the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem on multiple dimensions, including computing power, funding and risk management. Construction of the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster is underway and the cluster is expected to be fully operational by 2032 or earlier, providing computing power of 180,000 peta-floating point operations per second, equivalent to 36 times Hong Kong’s current computing power.

The Government has also launched an AI Subsidy Scheme to support the industry in using high-performance computing power for frontier research, and is optimising the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to provide matching subsidies to support more small and medium enterprises in applying AI and cybersecurity solutions.

In addition, the Government will continue to build digitally-led public services. The “iAM Smart” platform has achieved the goal of a single portal for online government services, with daily usage exceeding 220,000 interactions. The platform provides access to more than 1,400 online services.

Meanwhile, the AI Efficacy Enhancement Team is driving government departments to apply AI technology. It has so far facilitated 30 projects involving 13 departments.

Going forward, the Government will aim to promote closer collaboration with the industrial, academic, research and investment sectors, consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s competitive edge in the global market, and provide more convenient, efficient and reliable public services.