The 33-year-old, who is based in Australia, was judged best jockey in 2022.
On his way to claiming the this year's title, McDonald won 12 of the world's Top 100 Group or Grade 1 races.
His qualifying victories included the Longines Hong Kong Cup, Longines Hong Kong Mile, Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ladbrokes Doomben 10,000 and the Ladbrokes Cox Plate.
McDonald dominated this year's award, holding a sizeable lead throughout much of the competition.
The scoring process rewards jockeys for finishing in the top three, giving McDonald a total of 184 points on the year.
Mickael Barzalona was second with 132 points and William Buick was third with 114 points.
The awarding of the World's Best Jockey title is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated Group 1 and Grade 1 races as established for the year by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee.
The scoring incorporates races from December 1 of the previous year until November 30 of the current year.
Jockeys accrue 12 points for a win, 6 points for placing second, and 4 points for placing third.
The award was established in 2014 as a way for the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities to quantitatively recognise a jockey as the best among his or her global peers.
Italian jockey Frankie Dettori and Englishman Ryan Moore have won the award four times each.
