These are the top ten most innovative economies of the world

BusinessToday.In

Dec 6, 2019,
Updated Dec 23, 2019 3:56 PM IST

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The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for 2019 ranks 141 economies on their innovation capability. The innovation ecosystem is measured with the help of five sub-pillars-commercialization, Interaction, and diversity, administrative requirements, research and development, and entrepreneurial culture. Other important factors like education and the intensity of competitive skills they possess also help determine the country's innovation capabilities.Here are 10 of the world's most innovative economies:

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10- NetherlandsThe Netherlands has shown some major improvements this year across every indicator in the research and development sub-pillar, ranking third for multi-stakeholder collaborations, and improvement last year.

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9- FranceFrance ranks third for its prominence in research. The country performs well in the research and development field.

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8- United Kingdom
The UK is at number eight for its innovation capabilities. The country's strongest indicator is none other than its scientific publications, for which it scores 1,280-150 points higher than the most innovative country, Germany.

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7- JapanAlthough it is seventh in the overall innovation list, Japan is at number one position in terms of its research and development sub-pillar. The country has by far the most patent applications from among the countries mentioned in the list of top 10 most innovative economies.

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6- South KoreaThe second most innovative economy in Asia, South Korea features at number six. South Korea spends a relatively high percentage of its GDP on research and development and scores high on manufacturing output. The country scores high for sophistication as well as for patent applications and R&D expenditure.

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5- SwedenLike the United States, Sweden has always stood fourth for international co-invention per million of the population. The country also spends on its innovation, spending 3.3% of its GDP on research and development. In the overall ranking it stands at number five.

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4- Taiwan, ChinaThe country has already earned praise for its efficiency and production with the opening of Amazon's new innovation centre last year in Taipei. A host of innovations were introduced last year. A total of six Taiwan innovations won R&D 100 awards, creating a record at the world's most prestigious competition for science and technology inventions. For now, it is at the fourth position because of its diversity of workforce, and third for the number of patent applications per million of the population.

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3- Switzerland
Switzerland lands the third position on the list for having the most highly skilled workforce through which the country can transform its innovation into products. It is also the second most innovative country in Europe. It scores high on collaboration, coming out tops for international co-inventions (71.42) per million of the population.

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2- United StatesThe United States features at number two in the Global Competitiveness Index 2019. The country remains a powerhouse of innovation and also holds prominence in scientific research.

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1- GermanyGermany features on top in the Global Competitiveness Report due to its contribution to the automobile industry like driverless cars, where it is focusing on digitally-networked mobility and electric mobility. The western European country scores particularly high with respect to research and development. The country spends 2.9 per cent of GDP on research and development (R&D). This commitment to Research and Development shows that German carmakers are now shaping the future.