The WIPO presented the Global Innovation Index 2023 ranking 132 countries on their innovation capabilities. "Two promising innovation waves are making their presence felt across economies and societies: a digital innovation wave, built on artificial intelligence (AI), supercomputing and automation, and a deep science innovation wave, based on biotechnologies and nanotechnologies.

Many of the key indicators of technological progress are trending positively. Computing power continues to increase in line with Moore’s Law. Green supercomputing is becoming more efficient. Renewable energy is increasingly affordable. And the cost of genome sequencing continues to decline. Spurred on by the scale of the possibilities before us, top corporate R&D expenditure exceeded USD 1 trillion for the first time last year, with ICT firms the primary drivers", according to the WIPO.

Switzerland is for a 13th year the most innovative country of the world

Switzerland – for a 13th year – ranks first in the GII 2023. Sweden is now 2nd and the United States 3rd, followed by the United Kingdom (4th) and Singapore (5th), which enters the top 5.

Finland (6th) moves closer to the top 5, and every other Nordic (Denmark 9th and Sweden) and Baltic (Estonia, 16th, Lithuania 34th and Latvia 37th) economy is also on an upward trend, except for Iceland, which stays stable at 20th position.

China – still the sole middle-income economy within the GII top 30, having entered the top echelon in 2014 – is ranked 12th in GII2023, while Japan is 13th. Israel (14th) makes it into the top 15. Saudi Arabia (48th), Brazil (49th) and Qatar (50th) make it into the top 50, and South Africa (59th) into the top 60. Indonesia (61st) joins China, Türkiye (39th), India (40th), Viet Nam (46th), the Philippines (56th), and the Islamic Republic of Iran (62nd) in the group of middle-income economies within the GII top 65. This is the group that has climbed the GII rankings fastest over the last decade.

Outside the top 65 but within the top 100, the following middle- and low-income countries have progressed the most – by more than 20 ranks – within the last decade: Morocco (70th), Uzbekistan (82nd), Egypt (86th) and Pakistan (88th). In the last four years, and since the pandemic started, Mauritius (57th), Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Pakistan have risen the most in rank (in order of rank progression).

Brazil and Singapore are new innovation leaders in their regions

Below you can see the top three economies by region. Both Brazil and Singapore are new innovation leaders in their region in 2023.

What strikes me personally is that a country Like Japan, which is with the Tokyo-Yokohama region the number one Science & Technology Cluster in the world is not even in the top 3 countries in their region, and ranked number 13 in the global index of 2013. It's proof that great inventors do not have to be great innovators.

So, how did your country score? And are you happy with that? Start contributing to help your economic region be a better innovator for a better world!

Innovative regards from Milano,

Gijs

LinkedIn TopVoice, Founder FORTH Innovation Institute, Keynote Speaker

By Gijs van Wulfen

Keywords: Culture, Entrepreneurship, Innovation