Switzerland heads again the ranking of the most innovative countries

Now in its 11^th edition, the Global Innovation Index (GII) is a detailed quantitative tool that helps global decision-makers better understand how to stimulate the innovative activity that drives economic and human development. The GII ranks 126 economies based on 80 indicators, ranging from intellectual property filing rates to mobile-application creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications.

Eleven of the top 20 innovating economies come from Europe, including the top three: Switzerland (1st), the Netherlands (2nd), and Sweden (3rd). Switzerland earns the top position in the GII for the eighth consecutive year. It ranked first in various patent and IP-related indicators, as well as second in high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing production. It is among global leaders in R&D spending and quality of local universities.

Switzerland is not only mentioned as the new and old number 1. For the new edition the research team took an expanded look at economies that innovate efficiently - translating investments in education, research and R&D expenditures into high-quality innovation outputs. Leaders are Switzerland, Luxembourg, China, the Netherlands, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Malta, Hungary, Germany, and Sweden;

Multipolar innovation 
China's number 17 ranking this year represents a breakthrough for an economy witnessing rapid transformation guided by government policy prioritizing research and development-intensive ingenuity. While the United States fell back to number six in the GII 2018, it is an innovation powerhouse that has produced many of the world's leading hi-tech firms and life-changing innovations.

"China's rapid rise reflects a strategic direction set from the top leadership to developing world-class capacity in innovation and to moving the structural basis of the economy to more knowledge-intensive industries that rely on innovation to maintain competitive advantage," said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. "It heralds the arrival of multipolar innovation".

The Top 20 

1. Switzerland (number 1 in 2017)
2. Netherlands (3)
3. Sweden (2)
4. United Kingdom (5)
5. Singapore (7)
6. United States of America (4)
7. Finland (8)
8. Denmark (6)
9. Germany (9)
10. Ireland (10)
11. Israel (17)
12. Korea, Republic of (11)
13. Japan (14)
14. Hong Kong (China) (16)
15. Luxembourg (12)
16. France (15)
17. China (22)
18. Canada (18)
19. Norway (19)
20. Australia (23)

(Press release)