The World's Most Innovative Countries in 2022

Global R&D expenditures have increased thrice to $2.4 trillion since 2000.

The scope of R&D spending is expanding globally as well. By 2020, the United States accounted for about 30% of worldwide R&D expenditures, down from over 70% in 1960. R&D significantly influences practically every aspect of society, whether directly or indirectly, from job creation and public health to national security and industrial competitiveness.

Other essential components, in addition to R&D spending, are crucial for advancing innovation. These include, among other things, the use of technology, scientific research, and venture financing.

What Defines an Innovative Economy?

The Global Innovation Index is an ongoing effort to measure innovation, although it is intrinsically difficult to do so.

The foundation for the index, which uses 81 factors spread over seven categories to determine a country's score, was created to produce a more thorough analysis:

The framework aims to identify markers that support an inventive environment and ground-breaking innovations, as the above demonstrates.

It's important to remember that each country's total innovation score is a composite of these categories and that even those with comparable ratings may excel in specific domains.

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.

This may come as a shock to many people. However, the nation's intellectual property laws are regarded as being of the highest calibre, and they are supported by a strong partnership between academia and business. Furthermore, the nation draws outstanding talent as a result of its high standard of life.

The United States, which spends more than $700 billion annually on R&D, comes in second. Four of the top five R&D-spending businesses in the world are American: Apple ($18.8 billion), Microsoft ($19.3 billion), Alphabet ($27.6 billion), and Amazon ($42.7 billion).

Europe is well represented in the top 10, with Sweden (#3), the United Kingdom (#4), and the Netherlands (#5) in the top three.

Sixth-placed South Korea is renowned for its intense R&D efforts. This is fueled by its chaebols, or industrial conglomerates, which are often family-owned. One of its major corporations is LG, which is renowned for its extensive corporate-academic cooperation. Another is Samsung.

Closer Look-up:

North America:

The United States is ranked first in North America. The nation has a long history of developing novel concepts and technology that have fundamentally altered the way we live and conduct business, earning it a reputation as a global leader in innovation. Indicators like university-industry R&D collaboration and intangible asset intensity place the United States first.

Canada (world rank: 15) is ranked second in the area. On measurements of the joint venture and strategic alliances per billion dollars of GDP (PPP) and the number of venture capital (VC) beneficiaries per billion dollars of GDP, it comes out on top among all nations (PPP). Over 752 deals, VC investment in 2021 totalled $14.7 billion.

Honduras (#113) is another interesting overview. A new economic zoning initiative dubbed Zones for Economic Development and Employment is propelling innovation throughout the nation (ZEDEs).

A quarter billion dollars in private investment capital and thousands of new employees have been generated by these zones thus far.

South America:

Chile (#50) ranks first globally, thanks to its promising tech sector. There are currently thought to be 8,000 IT enterprises there. The country's greatest mobile connection level is found in this region. It introduced the first 5G network in South America in late 2021.

Following Chile is Brazil (#54), which saw a record number of initial public offerings in 2021 with a total valuation of approximately $7 billion.

Middle East and Central Asia:

Israel (#16) is the only country in the world to spend more than 5% of its GDP on research and development, ranking highest in the area. It leads the world in terms of exports of information and communication technology (ICT) services and patent applications.

In contrast, the country's startup density per capita is 16 times higher than that of Europe.

The second place is held by the tiny little island country of Cyprus (#27), which is aided by start-up-oriented government financing. Turkey, which is ranked third (#37), is home to six unicorns* thanks to the growth of a Megatech corridor from Istanbul to Izmir.

Europe:

Europe is a driving force for nurturing creative ecosystems, home to 15 of the top 25 global markets.

The continent also excels in social progress, equality, and quality of life. The region has a Gini Index score of 30, whereas America has a score of 41.

Although many people don't immediately think of Europe when they think about technical production, venture capital agreements increased by more than 53% in 2021. Leading cities for VC activity were London, Berlin, and Paris.

East Asia and Oceania:

South Korea (#6) ranks highest across East Asia and Oceania and has established itself as a leader in technology and innovation on the global stage. Under its New Deal agenda, the government is driving initiatives on smart industrial complexes, AI, and smart healthcare systems. It is also quickening the development of environmentally friendly infrastructure and renewable energy.

Hyundai and Kia, both of South Korea, have made significant strides in the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs), now accounting for 9% of the EV market in the United States, the second-highest percentage behind Tesla.

China, which is now ranked first in a number of indices such as labour productivity growth and trademarks by origin, is barely outside the top 10 countries in the world. Between 2011 and 2019, China's average economic production per employed worker climbed a remarkable 4.2% yearly.

Africa:

Mauritius, an island republic, is rated highest in Africa (#45).

The power of its institutions and the sophistication of its market highlight its rank. Government spending on tech incubators, research-business partnerships, and tax breaks for R&D investment is increasing in the meanwhile.

Following Mauritius on the list is South Africa (#61), where Cape Town has attracted a planned $300 million Amazon headquarters.

In 2018, Panasonic established a headquarters in Cape Town. The nation's burgeoning IT sector is home to offices like Oracle, IBM, Google, and Microsoft.