Switzerland ranks at the top for the 12th year in a row—above the U.S., South Korea, and Israel.
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.
Along with R&D spend, other key ingredients play an important role in driving progress and innovation. These include technological adoption, scientific research, and venture capital activity, among others.
In the infographic below, Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld ranks the world’s most innovative economies using data from the UN’s WIPO Global Innovation Index.
What Defines an Innovative Economy?
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:
As the above table shows, 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.
The 50 Most Innovative Countries in 2022
Switzerland ranks at the top for the 12th year in a row—above the U.S., South Korea, and Israel.
For many, this 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).
Rank
Country / Region
Score
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
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-innovative-countries-2022/