2022: HERE ARE THE 50 MOST INNOVATIVE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

Did you know that Switzerland ranks at the top⁠ for the 12th year in a row, above the United States of America, South Korea, and Israel, as the most innovative country in the world?

For many, Switzerland's stay at the top as the most innovative country may come as a surprise. However, the country’s intellectual property rules are considered world-class, and they are complemented by strong collaboration between universities and industry. In addition, the country attracts top talent thanks to its high quality of living.

At second is the United States, which is a top spender on R&D at over $700 billion per year. Globally, four of the five top R&D spending companies are in America: Amazon ($42.7 billion), Alphabet ($27.6 billion), Microsoft ($19.3 billion), and Apple ($18.8 billion).

Innovation is inherently challenging to quantify, but the Global Innovation Index is a longstanding attempt to do just that. The framework used for the index was designed to create a more complete analysis, comprising of 81 indicators across seven categories to calculate a country’s score: The seven categories are: Business Sophistication, Market Sophistication, Infrastructure, Human Capital & Research, Institutions (political stability and safety, ease of starting a business), Creative Outputs, and Knowledge and Technology Outputs.

The framework aims to identify indicators that foster an innovative environment and breakthrough technologies. It’s worth noting that each country’s overall innovation score is a mix of these categories, and countries with similar scores can be strong in different areas.

Asides the above indicators, the following infographic also ranks the world’s most innovative economies using data from the UN’s WIPO Global Innovation Index. 

Since 2000, global investment in research and development (R&D) has tripled to $2.4 trillion. R&D spend is also casting a wider global net. In 1960, the U.S. made up nearly 70% of global R&D spending, and by 2020 this had fallen to 30%. From job creation and public health to national security and industrial competitiveness, R&D plays a vital role in a country’s economic growth and innovation, impacting nearly every corner of society—either directly or indirectly.

The 50 most innovative countries in 2022 according to rank, country / region, and score, are:

1  Switzerland — 64.6

2  U.S. — 61.8

3  Sweden — 61.6

4  United Kingdom — 59.7

5  Netherlands — 58.0

6  South Korea — 57.8

7  Singapore — 57.3

8  Germany — 57.2

9  Finland — 56.9

10  Denmark — 55.9

11  China — 55.3

12  France — 55.0

13  Japan — 53.6

14  Hong Kong — 51.8

15  Canada — 50.8

16  Israel — 50.2

17  Austria — 50.2

18  Estonia — 50.2

19  Luxembourg — 49.8

20  Iceland — 49.5

21  Malta — 49.1

22  Norway — 48.8

23  Ireland — 48.5

24  New Zealand — 47.2

25  Australia — 47.1

26  Belgium — 46.9

27  Cyprus — 46.2

28  Italy — 46.1

29  Spain — 44.6

30  Czech Republic — 42.8

31  United Arab Emirates — 42.1

32  Portugal — 42.1

33  Slovenia — 40.6

34  Hungary — 39.8

35  Bulgaria — 39.5

36  Malaysia — 38.7

37  Turkey — 38.1

38  Poland — 37.5

39  Lithuania — 37.4

40  India — 36.6

41  Latvia — 36.5

42  Croatia — 35.6

43  Thailand — 34.9

44  Greece — 34.5

45  Mauritius — 34.4

46  Slovakia — 34.3

47  Russia — 34.3

48  Vietnam — 34.3

49  Romania — 34.1

50  Chile — 34.0

Countries across Europe also feature prominently in the top 10, including Sweden (#3), the United Kingdom (#4) and the Netherlands (#5).

South Korea (#6), is known for its high R&D intensity. This is driven by its industrial conglomerates, known as chaebols, that are generally family-owned. Samsung and LG are among its largest companies, known for their high degree of corporate-academic collaboration.

Source:

Read more of the report here: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-innovative-countries-2022/