Most innovative countries
Which are the world's most innovative countries?
What makes a country a benchmark for innovation (R&D)? Parameters such as the GII (Global Innovation Index) serve as a scale for discovering the most innovative countries. For this purpose, data provided by the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) is used.
Switzerland is the world's leading producer of innovation for the 14th year in a row.
Sweden is bouncing back in infrastructure, business sophistication and researchers.
The United States once again stands out for the sophistication of its market and businesses.
Singapore continues its growth in innovation and positions itself as a leading Asian country.
The UK drops to fifth position but maintains a high level of market sophistication.
For the 14th consecutive year, Switzerland is the most innovative economy in 2024, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII)
External link, opens in new window. . Based on data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), it analyses the economic data of 133 countries and ranks their position in various categories such as research, infrastructure or creativity in their proposals. This allows countries to be ranked and to explore which countries have improved in recent years.
What is the Global Innovation Index?
The GII report focuses on assessing innovation at all levels in 133 countries around the world. To do so, it investigates a country's own research spending, its efforts in education, the number of science-related publications and many other parameters, always divided according to the country's economic level.
For this report it is vital to know which countries are performing above the expectations placed on them and which are at the expected level. That is why the GII divides countries into four levels:
- High economic level: Includes practically all the countries of the European Union, Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, in Oceania Australia and New Zealand as well as several Middle Eastern and American countries.
- Upper-middle economic level: This includes most of the emerging countries and also other American countries, as well as the first African countries. Their economies are moving towards the top positions and their growth is remarkable.
- Lower-middle economic level: Includes countries such as India and Vietnam, as well as most of the African continent and Asia.
- Low economic level: Includes African countries and Yemen, as they have the lowest GDP per capita and are therefore the most difficult countries to invest in.
In the division we discussed previously, three measures can be seen, those countries that are innovating above their group (the clearest example is China, 11th in the overall ranking despite belonging to the second group), those that are doing at the average of the group and those that are below expectations.
The world's most innovative countries
The GII determines that the 10 most innovative countries in the world are:
Switzerland
Switzerland is a world leader in producing innovation, excelling in the production and dissemination of knowledge and technology, as well as in creative output. Favoured by a stable and effective institutional climate, its business policies support the development of innovative initiatives. There is still room for improvement in infrastructure.
Sweden
The Nordic countries come first in the category of infrastructure, business sophistication and researchers. They also stand out in knowledge and technology production and human capital, knowledge-intensive jobs and use of low-carbon energy. Their main weaknesses are related to institutions and policies that encourage entrepreneurship and market sophistication.
United States
The United States stands out thanks to the sophistication of its market and business and is one of the easiest countries to invest in with a strong entertainment industry. It is the world's leading country in terms of the quality of its universities, the impact of its scientific publications, spending on software and income from intellectual property. Sustainability is one of its major weaknesses.
Singapore
Singapore rises to fourth place, leading the most KPIs in the index for the first time, even surpassing the United States. However, although Singapore is closing in on the top three, the gaps remain large in innovation and creative performance and market diversification. Its strength is institutions, with a favourable political climate and regulatory development.
United Kingdom
The UK falls one position after being overtaken by Singapore. Its position as the fifth most innovative country is mainly due to the high level of its universities and the sophistication of its market compared to other states, although it still faces challenges in terms of institutions and especially infrastructure, a category in which it occupies a surprisingly low position in Europe.
South Korea
Korea rises to sixth and ranks among the top three countries in the world on key issues such as education and researchers and in terms of production and export sophistication. Its spending on R&D and the development of R&D practices by companies is outstanding. It has room for improvement in terms of business climate and political stability for doing business.
Finland
This Nordic country has a notable advantage in both institutions and infrastructure and stands out in start-up and scale-up financing and patents. Its main problems, however, are in exports of creative goods and the student–teacher ratio.
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The Netherlands
The Low Countries are the best in terms of income from intellectual property, while they rank very low in the percentage of science and engineering graduates. They also struggle in terms of teacher–student ratio in secondary education and infrastructure, which they compensate for by being the best country for online creativity.
Germany
Germany has a clear advantage over the rest in its logistical capacity, market diversification and high-tech manufacturing, in addition to its leading position in the export of cultural and creative services. Its problems include institutional climate, ecological sustainability, student–teacher ratio and the use and development of information and communication technologies.
Denmark
Denmark's main strengths are its strong institutions and effective government. It is the leader in access to information and communication technologies and stands out for its logistical capacity and its media and entertainment market. Its biggest barriers are in the percentage of science and engineering graduates and the diversification and scale of its market.