IMD je vršio istraživanje o globalnoj konkurentnosti zemalja prema 331 kriteriju, svrstanom u četiri glavna faktora: ekonomska uspješnost, efikasnost vlade, poslovna efikasnost i infrastruktura.
The IMD surveyed countries' global competitiveness according to 331 criteria grouped into four main factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.