The innovation game

Which is the world’s most innovative country? Answering this question is the aim of the annual Global Innovation Index and a related report, which were published recently by Cornell University, INSEAD, a business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation. 

The ranking of 140 countries and economies around the world, which are scored using 79 indicators, is not surprising: Switzerland, Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and America lead the pack. But the authors also look at their data from other angles, for instance how countries do relative to their economic development and the quality of innovation (measured by indicators such as university rankings). In both cases the results are more remarkable. The chart below shows that in innovation many countries in Africa punch above their economic weight. 

There are some very interesting trends in this years’ analysis.

The chart indicates that, even though China is now churning out a lot of patents, it is still way behind America and other developed countries when it comes to innovation quality. 

My personal prediction though is that this is going to change soon. We work with some Chinese partners that definitely have the drive and creativity to spearhead towards the top. I am sure they are not alone. 

My favourite professor of all times, Albert Einstein used to say, ‘Innovation is more important than knowledge‘. I agree with him and I am happy to live in a country at the top of this list. I also do my very best to contribute to the results.

You can read the entire article and check the details of the study here (click on the link): The Global Innovation ranking