Australia a no-show among world’s most innovative countries

Since 2000, global investment in research and development (R&D) has tripled to $2.4 trillion and, as Australia’s innovation effort has faltered, the top countries just keep on going further and further ahead.

The infographic, from Visual Capitalist, ranks the world’s most innovative economies using data from the UN’s WIPO Global Innovation Index.

What Defines an Innovative Economy?

Innovation is more than R&D spending, though on that score Australia rates poorly, spending less than two percent of GDP and falling.

WIPO’s index measures data in seven broad categories – Business Sophistication, Market Sophistication, Infrastructure, Human Capital & Research, Institutions Political stability and safety, Creative Outputs, and Knowledge and Technology Outputs.

The 50 Most Innovative Countries in 2022

Switzerland ranks at the top⁠ for the 12th year in a row — above the US, South Korea, and Israel.

At second is the United States, which is a top spender on R&D at over US$700 billion per year. Globally, four of the five top R&D spending companies are in America: Amazon ($42.7 billion), Alphabet ($27.6 billion), Microsoft ($19.3 billion), and Apple ($18.8 billion).

World’s most innovative nations:
Rank Country / Region Score

• 1 Switzerland 64.6
• 2 US 61.8
• 3 Sweden 61.6
• 4 United Kingdom 59.7
• 5 Netherlands 58.0
• 6 South Korea 57.8
• 7 Singapore 57.3
• 8 Germany 57.2
• 9 Finland 56.9
• 10 Denmark 55.9

Australia languishes at a lowly 47.1.

We are outscored in our region even by Singapore on 57.3, Hong Kong on 51.8, Japan on 53.6, Korea on 57.8 and of course, China on 55.5.

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.

Through its New Deal initiative, the government is spearheading projects on smart healthcare, AI, and smart industrial complexes.

At the same time, it is accelerating the construction of eco-friendly infrastructure and renewable energy.

China sits just outside the global top 10, and now ranks #1 in multiple indicators, including labour productivity growth and trademarks by origin.

China’s economic output per employed worker increased an impressive 4.2 percent annually from 2011 to 2019, on average.

Image: Visual Capitalist