10 Best Countries for Innovation According to 2013 Global Index

Being a Canadian business innovation is something we value so seeing how Canada fairs when it comes to innovation interests us. We have explored Canada’s position on the world’s stage in posts like the best country to live, smartest countries, the happiest countries, the  most peaceful countries, the most sustainable countries, the friendliest countries, the most charitable countries, the most prosperous countries, the best countries for quality of life, the best countries for business, the top countries for life expectancy, the best countries for working women, the best country for world travel & tourism, the best countries for human development, the top countries for Clean Capitalism, the best country for child well-being, the best countries from social progress, the best countries for higher education, the most popular countries, the least corrupt countries, the best countries for paid vacation days, the countries with the best reputation, the best countries for global professionals, the best countries for ease of doing business, the best countries for starting a business, the best country for business, the best country for customer satisfaction, the most gay positive country, the best countries with the most competitive economies, the best countries for entrepreneurship, the most sustainable countries, the best countries to grow old and the top countries for longest hours worked. Today, we’ll be adding the 10 top countries based on the 2013 Global Innovation Index (GII).

The GII’s sixth edition was co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and “relies on two sub-indices, the Innovation Input Sub-Index and the Innovation Output Sub-Index, each built around pillars. Five input pillars capture elements of the national economy that enable innovative activities: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication. Two output pillars capture actual evidence of innovation outputs: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs. Each pillar is divided into sub-pillars and each sub-pillar is composed of individual indicators (84 in total).” Based in this data, the 10 top countries from the Global Innovation Index rankings are:

1. Switzerland – Score: 66.59. Rank in 2012: 1. Knowledge and technology outputs are where Switzerland received its best score of 1st.
2. Sweden – Score: 61.36. Rank in 2012: 2. 2nd place in infrastructure was its best 2013 score.
3. United Kingdom – Score: 61.25. Rank in 2012: 5. A 3rd place finish in market sophistication was the UK’s best score in 2013.
4. Netherlands – Score: 61.14. Rank in 2012: 6. The Netherlands best showing was 4th in creative outputs in 2013.
5. United States of America – Score: 60.31. Rank in 2012: 10. The highest scores the US received in 2013 were 2nd place in both market sophistication and business sophistication.
6. Finland – Score: 59.51. Rank in 2012: 4. Human capital and research is where Finland received its 1st placement.
7. Hong Kong (China) – Score: 59.43. Rank in 2012: 8. Hong Kong (China)’s best scores was a 1st place finish in infrastructure, and market sophistication in 2013.
8. Singapore – Score: 59.41. Rank in 2012: 3. Singapore’s best score in 2013 was 1st place in business sophistication.
9. Denmark – Score: 58.34. Rank in 2012: 7. Denmark’s highest score was 1st place in institutions.
10. Ireland – Score: 57.91. Rank in 2012: 9. Ireland’s best score was 4th place in knowledge and technology outputs.

Canada just missed the top ten with its 11th place ranking with a score of 57.60 in the GII 2013 edition. Canada’s highest score was 4th in market sophistication. Hopefully Canada will heed the GII 2013 findings and break the top 10 in 2014.

“The GII has evolved into a valuable benchmarking tool to facilitate public-private dialogue, whereby policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders can evaluate progress on a continual basis.”

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