Connect with us

Technology

Ranked: The Most Innovative Countries in 2023

Published

6 months ago

on

Ranked: The Most Innovative Countries in 2023

Can I share this graphic?
Yes. Visualizations are free to share and post in their original form across the web—even for publishers. Please link back to this page and attribute Visual Capitalist.
When do I need a license?
Licenses are required for some commercial uses, translations, or layout modifications. You can even whitelabel our visualizations. Explore your options.
Interested in this piece?
Click here to license this visualization.

The Most Innovative Countries in the World in 2023

Which countries are the global innovation powerhouses?

In many ways, the past year has represented an inflection point in technological advancement. Almost overnight, OpenAI’s large language model ChatGPT became a household name and AI was within reach to the masses.

Yet looking under the surface, innovation is influenced by several unseen factors, from the institutional environment and high-tech exports to research talent and entrepreneurship culture.

This graphic shows the most innovative countries in the world, based on the 2023 Global Innovation Index (GII) put together by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

How is Innovation Measured?

The GII framework uses seven pillars and 80 indicators to assess a country’s innovative strength:

Innovation PillarExample Indicators
👨‍💻 Knowledge & Tech OutputsPatent applications, Hi-tech manufacturing
👩‍🏫 Human Capital & ResearchResearchers per million population, Global corporate R&D investors
🧳 Business SophisticationKnowledge-intensive employment, University-industry R&D collaboration
📈 Market SophisticationFinance for startups, Venture capital received
💡 Creative OutputsTrademark applications, Global brand value
🛣️ InfrastructureEnvironmental performance, Information and communication technology access
🏛️ InstitutionsRegulatory quality, Policies for doing business

Together, the sum of these pillars produces an overall score for each country.

Most Innovative Countries in 2023

For the 13th consecutive year, Switzerland was named the world’s most innovative country.

Among the key factors underscoring its rank are its policies for doing business and its scale of patent applications. Its world-class research institutions and skilled workforce are also key ingredients in fostering innovation.

Below, we show the most innovative countries in 2023 across 132 economies:

RankCountryScore
1🇨🇭 Switzerland67.6
2🇸🇪 Sweden64.2
3🇺🇸 U.S.63.5
4🇬🇧 UK62.4
5🇸🇬 Singapore61.5
6🇫🇮 Finland61.2
7🇳🇱 Netherlands60.4
8🇩🇪 Germany58.8
9🇩🇰 Denmark58.7
10🇰🇷 South Korea58.6
11🇫🇷 France56.0
12🇨🇳 China55.3
13🇯🇵 Japan54.6
14🇮🇱 Israel54.3
15🇨🇦 Canada53.8
16🇪🇪 Estonia53.4
17🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR53.3
18🇦🇹 Austria53.2
19🇳🇴 Norway50.7
20🇮🇸 Iceland50.7
21🇱🇺 Luxembourg50.6
22🇮🇪 Ireland50.4
23🇧🇪 Belgium49.9
24🇦🇺 Australia49.7
25🇲🇹 Malta49.1
26🇮🇹 Italy46.6
27🇳🇿 New Zealand46.6
28🇨🇾 Cyprus46.3
29🇪🇸 Spain45.9
30🇵🇹 Portugal44.9
31🇨🇿 Czech Republic44.8
32🇦🇪 UAE43.2
33🇸🇮 Slovenia42.2
34🇱🇹 Lithuania42.0
35🇭🇺 Hungary41.3
36🇲🇾 Malaysia40.9
37🇱🇻 Latvia39.7
38🇧🇬 Bulgaria39.0
39🇹🇷 Türkiye38.6
40🇮🇳 India38.1
41🇵🇱 Poland37.7
42🇬🇷 Greece37.5
43🇹🇭 Thailand37.1
44🇭🇷 Croatia37.1
45🇸🇰 Slovakia36.2
46🇻🇳 Vietnam36.0
47🇷🇴 Romania34.7
48🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia34.5
49🇧🇷 Brazil33.6
50🇶🇦 Qatar33.4
51🇷🇺 Russia33.3
52🇨🇱 Chile33.3
53🇷🇸 Serbia33.1
54🇲🇰 North Macedonia33.0
55🇺🇦 Ukraine32.8
56🇵🇭 Philippines32.2
57🇲🇺 Mauritius32.1
58🇲🇽 Mexico31.0
59🇿🇦 South Africa30.4
60🇲🇩 Moldova30.3
61🇮🇩 Indonesia30.3
62🇮🇷 Iran30.1
63🇺🇾 Uruguay30.0
64🇰🇼 Kuwait29.9
65🇬🇪 Georgia29.9
66🇨🇴 Colombia29.4
67🇧🇭 Bahrain29.1
68🇲🇳 Mongolia28.8
69🇴🇲 Oman28.4
70🇲🇦 Morocco28.4
71🇯🇴 Jordan28.2
72🇦🇲 Armenia28.0
73🇦🇷 Argentina28.0
74🇨🇷 Costa Rica27.9
75🇲🇪 Montenegro27.8
76🇵🇪 Peru27.7
77🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina27.1
78🇯🇲 Jamaica27.1
79🇹🇳 Tunisia26.9
80🇧🇾 Belarus26.8
81🇰🇿 Kazakhstan26.7
82🇺🇿 Uzbekistan26.2
83🇦🇱 Albania25.4
84🇵🇦 Panama25.3
85🇧🇼 Botswana24.6
86🇪🇬 Egypt24.2
87🇧🇳 Brunei23.5
88🇵🇰 Pakistan23.3
89🇦🇿 Azerbaijan23.3
90🇱🇰 Sri Lanka23.3
91🇨🇻 Cabo Verde23.3
92🇱🇧 Lebanon23.2
93🇸🇳 Senegal22.5
94🇩🇴 Dominican Republic22.4
95🇸🇻 El Salvador21.8
96🇳🇦 Namibia21.8
97🇧🇴 Bolivia21.4
98🇵🇾 Paraguay21.4
99🇬🇭 Ghana21.3
100🇰🇪 Kenya21.2
101🇰🇭 Cambodia20.8
102🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago20.7
103🇷🇼 Rwanda20.6
104🇪🇨 Ecuador20.5
105🇧🇩 Bangladesh20.2
106🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan20.2
107🇲🇬 Madagascar19.1
108🇳🇵 Nepal18.8
109🇳🇬 Nigeria18.4
110🇱🇦 Laos18.3
111🇹🇯 Tajikistan18.3
112🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire18.2
113🇹🇿 Tanzania17.4
114🇹🇬 Togo16.9
115🇳🇮 Nicaragua16.9
116🇭🇳 Honduras16.7
117🇿🇼 Zimbabwe16.5
118🇿🇲 Zambia16.4
119🇩🇿 Algeria16.1
120🇧🇯 Benin16.0
121🇺🇬 Uganda16.0
122🇬🇹 Guatemala15.8
123🇨🇲 Cameroon15.3
124🇧🇫 Burkina Faso14.5
125🇪🇹 Ethiopia14.3
126🇲🇿 Mozambique13.6
127🇲🇷 Mauritania13.5
128🇬🇳 Guinea13.3
129🇲🇱 Mali12.9
130🇧🇮 Burundi12.5
131🇳🇪 Niger12.4
132🇦🇴 Angola10.3

For full methodology notes on which economies are included in the report, see the bottom of the article.

Sweden ranked second, rising above the U.S. this year. The country excelled in business sophistication, knowledge-intensive employment, and researchers per capita.

While the U.S. ranked third overall, it saw the highest scores in venture capital received, global corporate research and development (R&D) investors, and total unicorn value. Of the 1,206 global unicorns as of April 2023, the U.S. was home to 54% of the total.

Most Innovative Countries 2019 to 2023

At fifth overall, Singapore ranked the highest in Asia. As both a financial hub and global innovator, Singapore ranked strongly on government effectiveness, venture capital received, and stability for business. It has the highest venture funding per capita in the world.

Brazil (49th) ranked highest in Latin America, while Mauritius (57th) was the top-ranking country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Top 25 Science & Technology Clusters

Here are the top science and technology (S&T) clusters per capita, based on the density of scientific authors and inventors in a geographic location:

2023 RankingCluster EconomyTop ApplicantTop Scientific Organization
1Cambridge🇬🇧 UKARMCambridge University
2San Jose–
San Francisco		🇺🇸 U.S.GoogleStanford University
3Oxford🇬🇧 UKOxford UniversityOxford University
4Eindhoven🇳🇱 NetherlandsPhilips ElectronicsEindhoven University
of Technology
5Boston–
Cambridge		🇺🇸 U.S.MITMIT
6Daejeon🇰🇷 South KoreaLG ChemKAIST
7Ann Arbor🇺🇸 U.S.University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
8San Diego🇺🇸 U.S.QualcommUniversity of California
San Diego
9Seattle🇺🇸 U.S.MicrosoftUniversity of Washington
Seattle
10Munich🇩🇪 GermanyBMWTechnical University
of Munich
11Kanazawa🇯🇵 JapanFujitsuKanazawa University
12Raleigh🇺🇸 U.S.Duke UniversityDuke University
13Göteborg🇸🇪 SwedenLM EricssonUniversity of Gothenburg
14Beijing🇨🇳 ChinaBOE TechnologyTsinghua University
15Stockholm🇸🇪 SwedenLM EricssonKarolinska Institutet
16Helsinki🇫🇮 FinlandNokiaUniversity of Helsinki
17Zürich🇨🇭 SwitzerlandETH ZürichETH Zürich
18Tokyo–Yokohama🇯🇵 JapanMitsubishi ElectricUniversity of Tokyo
19Basel🇨🇭 Switzerland, Denmark, FranceDSM IP AssetsUniversity of Basel
20Copenhagen🇩🇰 DenmarkNovo NordiskUniversity of Copenhagen
21Nuremberg–Erlangen🇩🇪 GermanySiemensUniversity of Erlangen
Nuremberg
22Stuttgart🇩🇪 GermanyRobert BoschEberhard Karls
University of Tübingen
23Minneapolis🇺🇸 U.S.3M Innovative PropertiesUniversity of Minnesota
Twin Cities
24Pittsburgh🇺🇸 U.S.University of PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh
25Seoul🇰🇷 South KoreaSamsung ElectronicsSeoul National University

As the top S&T cluster by intensity, Cambridge produced 37,000 articles per million people. Its top applicant, ARM, is a semiconductor company working closely with Cambridge University. Over 130 billion devices globally have used chips based on ARM’s designs.

The San Jose-San Francisco cluster ranked second, with Google as the top applicant. In 2022, the U.S. granted Google’s parent company Alphabet 2,077 patents.

South Korea’s Daejeon cluster is the top in Asia, led by battery maker LG Chem. In 2022, over 49,000 domestic and overseas patents were registered. In fact, both Honda and GM are partnering with LG Chem to build multi-billion dollar battery factories in Ohio over the next few years.

As we can see, many of the world’s most innovative countries have strong clusters that attract tech firms, researchers, and knowledge-intensive workers due to a host of factors that support disruption and tech advancement.

These tech clusters have a powerful effect on creating innovations that extend across multiple sectors of the economy, and the wider global landscape.

Where Does This Data Come From?

Source: World Intellectual Property Organization Global Innovation Index (2023).

Note: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an agency of the United Nations. It includes 190 UN member states, as well as three non-members: the Cook Islands, Holy See, and Niue.

Countries that are not a part of the WIPO include three UN-recognized countries—the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and South Sudan—as well as other non-members including Taiwan.

Related Topics:
Click for Comments

Technology

Charting the Next Generation of Internet

In this graphic, Visual Capitalist has partnered with MSCI to explore the potential of satellite internet as the next generation of internet innovation.
Sponsored Post

Published

1 day ago

on

May 13, 2024

By

Teaser image of a bubble chart showing the large addressable market of satellite internet.

Published

1 day ago

on

The following content is sponsored by MSCI
A long-form graphic with a bubble chart showing the potential subscriber base of satellite internet, bar charts showing the number of active satellites, and MSCI Next-Generation Internet index performance. The graphic shows satellite internet as a possible way to get the world online and provides further details of the MSCI Next-Generation Internet Indexes.

Could Tomorrow’s Internet be Streamed from Space?

In 2023, 2.6 billion people could not access the internet. Today, companies worldwide are looking to innovative technology to ensure more people are online at the speed of today’s technology. 

Could satellite internet provide the solution?  

In collaboration with MSCI, we embarked on a journey to explore whether tomorrow’s internet could be streamed from space. 

Satellite Internet’s Potential Customer Base

Millions of people live in rural communities or mobile homes, and many spend much of their lives at sea or have no fixed abode. So, they cannot access the internet simply because the technology is unavailable. 

Satellite internet gives these communities access to the internet without requiring a fixed location. Consequently, the volume of people who could get online using satellite internet is significant:

AreaPotential Subscribers
Households Without Internet Access600,000,000
RVs 11,000,000
Recreational Boats8,500,000
Ships100,000
Commercial Aircraft25,000

Advances in Satellite Technology

Satellite internet is not a new concept. However, it has only recently been that roadblocks around cost and long turnaround times have been overcome.

NASA’s space shuttle, until it was retired in 2011, was the only reusable means of transporting crew and cargo into orbit. It cost over $1.5 billion and took an average of 252 days to launch and refurbish. 

In stark contrast, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 can now launch objects into orbit and maintain them at a fraction of the time and cost, less than 1% of the space shuttle’s cost.

Average Rocket Turnaround TimeAverage Launch/Refurbishment Cost
Falcon 9*21 days< $1,000,000
Space Shuttle252 days$1,500,000,000 (approximately)

Satellites are now deployed 300 miles in low Earth orbit (LEO) rather than 22,000 miles above Earth in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), previously the typical satellite deployment altitude.

What this means for the consumer is that satellite internet streamed from LEO has a latency of 40 ms, which is an optimal internet connection. Especially when compared to the 700 ms stream latency experienced with satellite internet streamed from GEO. 

What Would it Take to Build a Satellite Internet?

SpaceX, the private company that operates Starlink, currently has 4,500 satellites. However, the company believes it will require 10 times this number to provide comprehensive satellite internet coverage.

Charting the number of active satellites reveals that, despite the increasing number of active satellites, many more must be launched to create a comprehensive satellite internet. 

YearNumber of Active Satellites
20226,905
20214,800
20203,256
20192,272
20182,027
20171,778
20161,462
20151,364
20141,262
20131,187

Next-Generation Internet Innovation

Innovation is at the heart of the internet’s next generation, and the MSCI Next Generation Innovation Index exposes investors to companies that can take advantage of potentially disruptive technologies like satellite internet. 

You can gain exposure to companies advancing access to the internet with four indexes: 

  • MSCI ACWI IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation Index
  • MSCI World IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation 30 Index
  • MSCI China All Shares IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation Index
  • MSCI China A Onshore IMI Next Generation Internet Innovation Index

MSCI thematic indexes are objective, rules-based, and regularly updated to focus on specific emerging trends that could evolve.

Visual Capitalist Logo

Click here to explore the MSCI thematic indexes

Related Topics: # # # # # # # # # #

You may also like

Appian-Capital

Subscribe

Continue Reading
Voronoi, the app by Visual Capitalist. Where data tells the story. Download on App Store or Google Play

Subscribe

Popular