When it comes to Post-MBA opportunities, top schools are not restricted by the state of the economy. The network that career services team have built over the years has enabled them to place MBA students in locations around the world. But when it comes to 2nd tier schools , most of the post-MBA job opportunities are available locally. So understanding how top MBA destinations have fared over the past 5 years will help you choose a school based on the resilience and growth opportunity of the economy.
We have collected the Real GDP Growth rate to give you an overview about the health of top MBA Destinations. The interesting stats to look for are the comeback after a disastrous 2009 and the latest GDP growth rate (2011). When you talk about comebacks, Mexico leads (12%), followed by Germany (8.19%) and Italy (6.38%). The only MBA destinations that showed steady growth during 2009-10 were China, India and Australia.
If you analyse the latest growth pattern (2010-11), except for France, all the economies have shown a decline in GDP growth rate. Based on comeback, growth pattern in recent years, and average real GDP growth, here are the top MBA destinations.
1. China
2. India
3. Brazil
4. Australia
5. Mexico
6. Canada
7. Germany
8. United States
9. Netherlands
10. France
11. United Kingdom
12. Denmark
13. Portugal
14. Italy
Top MBA Destinations (Real GDP Growth Rate)
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.