Ranked: The World’s Most Sustainable Trading Economies in 2026

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October 13, 2026 9:53 am

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Julia Wendling

Design

Athul Alexander

Radial bar chart and three bump charts showing a ranking of countries by Sustainable Trade Index score and its pillars, using data from the 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 11^th, while Cambodia climbed four places to 15^th. Sri Lanka also advanced four spots to 22^nd. Meanwhile, Japan fell three positions to eighth and China dropped three places to 19^th.

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 17^th in 2025 to third in 2026, Hong Kong rose from eighth to fourth, and Vietnam climbed from 13^th 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.