Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's X
KUALA LUMPUR, November 11, 2026 — Malaysia has risen seven places to 27th among 70 economies in the IMD World Digital and AI Ranking (WDAIR) 2026, from 34th last year, and ranks second in ASEAN after Singapore, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday.
In a media statement posted on X at 5.12pm and dated November 11, 2026, under the heading that the country’s economic reform and digitalisation agenda had lifted Malaysia to 27th in WDAIR 2026, Anwar said the result was led in particular by a 21-place rise in AI usage, to 14th in the world, a 10-place rise in efficiency, to 28th, and the standing of the national AI strategy, which he put at 12th.
Malaysia was also placed 18th for workforce development, second in the world for science graduates, fifth for venture capital, sixth for high-technology exports and eighth for AI investment incentives, the prime minister said.
The IMD World Competitiveness Center’s World Digital and AI Ranking is a new assessment that succeeds the centre’s earlier World Digital Competitiveness Ranking and covers 70 economies. On the 2026 list the United States ranked first, with Singapore and the Netherlands second and third, according to IMD. The specific placements Anwar cited for Malaysia, including the overall rank of 27th, were those set out in his statement. RTM later reported the same figures on Wednesday afternoon.
Anwar said the Malaysia Digital Action Plan 2030 and the National AI Action Plan 2026-2030, known as Negara AI 2030, were aimed at creating up to 300,000 new AI-related jobs and contributing up to 1.2 percentage points of additional growth to gross domestic product by 2030.
Through Belanjawan MADANI 2027, RM30 million is being provided through the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to help 4,000 micro, small and medium enterprises adopt AI and automate their operations, to train and certify 5,000 AI professionals, and to provide an additional 100,000 free AI subscriptions to young people, the statement said. The figure is a Budget 2027 government allocation, channelled through MDEC.
The prime minister presented the ranking as evidence that the reform and digitalisation agenda was yielding results, while tying the next phase of work to the two action plans and to the measures funded in the coming budget. The statement was signed in his name and dated November 11, 2026. He did not set out a revised target beyond the 2030 job and growth figures already associated with those plans. MDEC, which is to channel the Budget 2027 allocation, is the government agency responsible for driving Malaysia’s digital economy.
WDAIR assesses digital and artificial-intelligence performance across the 70 economies in the study. Anwar’s statement, issued under his name, was accompanied by an official graphic of the text. He did not attach a separate commentary beyond the statement itself.
Source: https://x.com/anwaribrahim/status/2120444509255590250. The existence of WDAIR 2026, the coverage of 70 economies and the top three places of the United States, Singapore and the Netherlands are from IMD. RTM reported the same Malaysian rankings on November 11, 2026.
Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s X
About The Author
