Talent attraction: Luxembourg claims the top spot

23 December 2021

2021 Global Talent Competitiveness Index

The Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2021 provides a snapshot of how different territories perform and of their strengths and areas of improvement..

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the global workforce. How has Luxembourg performed in attracting talents? How does it compare?

According to the 2021 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, Luxembourg ranks 8th overall. The country stands out in particular for its ability to attract and to retain talent.

Attracting talent thanks to world-beating external Openness

Luxembourg is the best performing country in the world for attracting talent. This top spot is mainly due to its external openness (1st) and to its high degree of internal openness (7th).

The country also performs well when it comes to retaining its workforce (6th), where its world-class pension system, environmental performance and social protection contribute to its excellent sustainability (2nd).

The country has a high degree of entrepreneurship. As such, it contributes to an impressive performance in the Talent Impact sub-pillar (3rd) and, ultimately, a strong global knowledge skills pool (8th).

Luxembourg’s pool of professional and technical skills (21st) is its main weakness. Improving middle-level skills (34th) is a priority.

The GTCI report is published annually by INSEAD in partnership with Portulans Institute. The report is a comprehensive annual benchmarking report that measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent. It provides a unique resource for decision makers to understand the global talent competitiveness picture and develop strategies to boost their competitiveness. The 2021 report covers 134 countries and 155 cities from 75 economies around the world across all groups of income and levels of development.

Why researchers chose Luxembourg as a research destination?

“The priority put on research in Luxembourg increases motivation and brings experts in different fields from all over the world.”

“One of the biggest advantages of pursuing research in Luxembourg is that you have access to resources that allow you to put in more—to try out new tools, to integrate different areas of expertise, and to aim for higher quality research than you might have produced otherwise.”

“Luxembourg applies the highest international standards of research, while the rather small size of the country facilitates the discussion and collaboration between researchers from different disciplines but also between researchers, political actors and stakeholders.”

“While the University of Luxembourg is still young, it’s famous.”

“Research-wise, I love Luxembourg for its short bureaucratic ladders: even as a young researcher, I could directly get in touch with directors and nation-wide associations.”

“As researchers, we have access to modern infrastructures and equipment, as well as the technologies needed to perform our work on a daily basis.”

Explore our series dedicated to young researchers.