TECHNOLOGY12 Years of the World’s Top 10 Most Innovative CountriesPublished 11 hours ago on December 20, 2022
By Gilbert Fontana green checkmark icon Featured Creator
Article/Editing:
Omri Wallach
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Tracking the top 10 most innovative countries since 2011
12 Years of the World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Countries
Every year, the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) scores countries on how innovative their economies are with the Global Innovation Index.
The Index scores countries on indicators of a strong innovation economy. These include R&D spend, general market strength, patent systems and output, and local labor capital. And though a few countries consistently rank high, others are moving in and out of the top 10 rankings.
This graphic from Gilbert Fontana details the top 10 most innovative countries in the UN’s WIPO Global Innovation Index from 2011-2022.
Top 10 Innovative Countries (2011–2022)
Over the last 12 years, Switzerland has ranked at the top of the innovation index on the strength of its IP laws and local economic strength.
But much of the remaining top 10 have been in flux:
Most Innovative
Country Rank by Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Switzerland 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Sweden 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 3
Singapore 3 3 8 7 7 6 7 5 8 8 8 7
Hong Kong 4 8 7 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Finland 5 4 6 4 6 5 8 7 6 7 7 9
Denmark 6 7 9 8 10 8 6 8 7 6 9 10
U.S. 7 10 5 6 5 4 4 6 3 3 3 2
Canada 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Netherlands 9 6 4 5 4 9 3 2 4 5 6 5
UK 10 5 3 2 2 3 5 4 5 4 4 4
Ireland n/a 9 10 n/a 8 7 10 10 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Luxembourg n/a n/a n/a 9 9 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Germany n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 9 9 9 9 10 8
Israel n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 n/a n/a n/a
South Korea n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 5 6
In addition to Switzerland, seven other countries have been in the top 10 in each year, including Sweden, Singapore, and the United States.
Others have dropped out of the top 10, such as Canada in 2012 and Ireland in 2018. But that let up-and-comers like South Korea and Germany grab one of the top 10 spots. In total, 14 countries have ranked in the top 10 most innovative countries in the world over the time period covered in the visualization.
To learn more about the 2022 innovation rankings and how countries around the world ranked, check out The Most Innovative Countries in the World 2022.
