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October 13, 2026 9:53 am
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By
Julia Wendling
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- Athul Alexander
The following content is sponsored by Hinrich Foundation
Ranked: The World’s Most Sustainable Economies in 2026
This infographic from the Hinrich Foundation introduces the 2026 edition of the Hinrich-IMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI). Developed with the IMD World Competitiveness Center, the annual index ranks 30 select global economies on their ability to balance international trade with long-term economic, societal, and environmental priorities.
The STI is designed to stimulate meaningful discussion about the connections between global trade, sustainability, and resilience. It also serves as a practical tool for governments, policymakers, businesses, and researchers.
The UK Leads the 2026 Sustainable Trade Index
The overall STI ranks each economy across three core pillars of sustainability: economic, societal, and environmental. The index uses 72 indicators to measure performance across these pillars.
The United Kingdom ranks first overall in 2026, rising one position from 2024 and earning a score of 100. Singapore climbs two places to second, followed by New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Australia.
| Rank | Country | Overal STI (score) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 100.0 |
| 2 | Singapore | 97.7 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 95.1 |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 92.8 |
| 5 | Australia | 89.0 |
| 6 | Taiwan | 85.8 |
| 7 | South Korea | 84.3 |
| 8 | Japan | 84.0 |
| 9 | Canada | 78.0 |
| 10 | United States | 69.4 |
| 11 | Malaysia | 66.8 |
| 12 | Chile | 64.6 |
| 13 | Thailand | 61.6 |
| 14 | Vietnam | 61.5 |
| 15 | Cambodia | 58.4 |
| 16 | Philippines | 58.0 |
| 17 | Indonesia | 57.7 |
| 18 | Mexico | 53.6 |
| 19 | China | 51.4 |
| 20 | Peru | 47.9 |
| 21 | India | 44.2 |
| 22 | Sri Lanka | 43.1 |
| 23 | Ecuador | 34.4 |
| 24 | Laos | 25.7 |
| 25 | Bangladesh | 22.2 |
| 26 | Pakistan | 16.7 |
| 27 | Brunei | 13.7 |
| 28 | Myanmar | 6.3 |
| 29 | Russia | 4.7 |
| 30 | Papua New Guinea | 0.0 |
Several economies made notable gains. Malaysia rose four positions to 11th, while Cambodia climbed four places to 15th. Sri Lanka also advanced four spots to 22nd. Meanwhile, Japan fell three positions to eighth and China dropped three places to 19th.
The Three Pillars of Sustainable Trade—Economic, Societal, Environmental
The economic pillar measures an economy’s ability to foster growth through international trade. It incorporates factors such as export market concentration and government debt-to-GDP.
| Economic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Score |
| 1 | Singapore | 100.0 |
| 2 | United States | 86.0 |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 83.0 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 82.3 |
| 5 | South Korea | 80.5 |
| 6 | Taiwan | 80.2 |
| 7 | China | 78.4 |
| 8 | Malaysia | 71.8 |
| 9 | Australia | 71.0 |
| 10 | New Zealand | 69.3 |
| 11 | Canada | 69.2 |
| 12 | Japan | 67.1 |
| 13 | India | 61.7 |
| 14 | Thailand | 60.0 |
| 15 | Vietnam | 58.9 |
| 16 | Chile | 56.5 |
| 17 | Cambodia | 53.5 |
| 18 | Peru | 52.0 |
| 19 | Indonesia | 50.3 |
| 20 | Philippines | 49.9 |
| 21 | Mexico | 37.3 |
| 22 | Brunei | 35.4 |
| 23 | Ecuador | 29.3 |
| 24 | Sri Lanka | 22.6 |
| 25 | Bangladesh | 15.8 |
| 26 | Russia | 15.5 |
| 27 | Pakistan | 9.1 |
| 28 | Papua New Guinea | 8.2 |
| 29 | Laos | 7.9 |
| 30 | Myanmar | 0.0 |
Singapore ranks first, while the United States climbed from fourth in 2024 to second in 2026. However, tariff policies and their broader economic impacts weighed down U.S. performance.
The societal pillar assesses human capital development through measures including tertiary education and life expectancy. Australia leads this pillar, narrowly ahead of Canada, while Peru and Mexico have both demonstrated multi-year improvements.
| Societal | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Score |
| 1 | Australia | 100.0 |
| 2 | Canada | 99.9 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 97.3 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 95.3 |
| 5 | Taiwan | 93.7 |
| 6 | South Korea | 90.7 |
| 7 | Japan | 87.2 |
| 8 | Hong Kong | 85.5 |
| 9 | Singapore | 84.0 |
| 10 | Chile | 76.8 |
| 11 | United States | 75.3 |
| 12 | Thailand | 60.5 |
| 13 | Malaysia | 55.8 |
| 14 | Brunei | 52.6 |
| 15 | Peru | 50.2 |
| 16 | Ecuador | 50.1 |
| 17 | Sri Lanka | 49.8 |
| 18 | Mexico | 49.1 |
| 19 | Philippines | 49.0 |
| 20 | Indonesia | 48.3 |
| 21 | Vietnam | 47.4 |
| 22 | Russia | 44.8 |
| 23 | China | 40.7 |
| 24 | Laos | 40.4 |
| 25 | Bangladesh | 34.6 |
| 26 | Cambodia | 34.1 |
| 27 | India | 33.6 |
| 28 | Pakistan | 26.5 |
| 29 | Papua New Guinea | 12.2 |
| 30 | Myanmar | 0.0 |
Finally, the environmental pillar evaluates how economies manage natural resources and mitigate their environmental impact, including renewable energy use and CO₂ emissions per capita.
| Environmental | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Score |
| 1 | New Zealand | 100.0 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 99.7 |
| 3 | Cambodia | 98.4 |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 93.0 |
| 5 | Mexico | 89.2 |
| 6 | Singapore | 88.3 |
| 7 | Japan | 87.9 |
| 8 | Vietnam | 86.6 |
| 9 | Philippines | 86.4 |
| 10 | Indonesia | 85.9 |
| 11 | Australia | 82.3 |
| 12 | Sri Lanka | 80.2 |
| 13 | Malaysia | 76.9 |
| 14 | Thailand | 72.7 |
| 15 | Taiwan | 72.3 |
| 16 | Myanmar | 71.8 |
| 17 | South Korea | 71.7 |
| 18 | Chile | 66.5 |
| 19 | Laos | 66.2 |
| 20 | Peru | 60.9 |
| 21 | Canada | 59.9 |
| 22 | India | 59.7 |
| 23 | Pakistan | 59.1 |
| 24 | Bangladesh | 56.4 |
| 25 | Ecuador | 54.2 |
| 26 | China | 51.7 |
| 27 | United States | 49.0 |
| 28 | Papua New Guinea | 37.7 |
| 29 | Russia | 8.1 |
| 30 | Brunei | 0.0 |
New Zealand ranks first, while several Asian economies recorded substantial gains. Cambodia jumped from 17th in 2025 to third in 2026, Hong Kong rose from eighth to fourth, and Vietnam climbed from 13th to eighth.
Explore the Full Sustainable Trade Index
The Sustainable Trade Index provides a unique view of how select economies are navigating increasingly complex economic, societal, and environmental priorities alongside global trade.
This infographic offers just a preview of the insights available in the Sustainable Trade Index. To dive deeper, visit Hinrich Foundation, where you can explore additional resources and download the full 2026 report for free.
Visit Hinrich Foundation to download the entire report, for free.
Related Topics: #environment #sustainability #trade #ranking #global #gdp per capita #economic #Hinrich Foundation #sustainable trade index #societal #2025
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