Switzerland scores third place in the Bloomberg Innovation Index

The 2021 Bloomberg Innovation Index analyses several criteria using seven equally weighted metrics, including research and development spending, manufacturing capability, and concentration of high-tech public companies. The ranking process began with more than 200 economies, scored on a 0-100 scale in seven equally weighted categories. Nations that didn’t report data for at least six categories were eliminated, trimming the total list to 111. The current report Bloomberg publishes the top 60 economies.

Switzerland has maintained its reputation as an innovation leader, scoring the third place with 87.60 points, moving one stop up. According to the index, Switzerland ranked near the top in both of the research categories. It achieved 3 points research and development (R&D) intensity, 4 in Research Concentration and 5 in Manufacturing Value added. Although these three fields stand out, other categories also scored exceptionally, all with points lying below 20. Productivity scored 7, High-Tech 11, Tertiary Density 15 and the least performing category is the category patent activity.  

Compared to the leading countries, South Korea (rank1 with 90.49) and Singapore (rank 2 with 87.76), Switzerland’s performance across all categories are consistent and a little balanced. For instance, looking at  South Korea, the country scored the overall best points in Patent Activity; however, it lags in Productivity (36). Likewise, Singapore demonstrated its strengths, particularly in Tertiary Efficiency, scoring the best points (1) but its weaknesses lie in high-tech (18).

While Switzerland’s neighbour Germany dropped from the third to the fourth position with 80.45 points, Sweden maintained its place at rank 4 and Denmark moved two places up to position five.
According to the report, other gainers in this year’s index include India, which climbed back into the top 50 for the first time since 2016, and Uruguay, which qualified for the first time. Algeria and Argentina were among the countries that fell furthest.

For further information, refer to Bloomberg.

(Press release/ran)