Switzerland: Europe's most
innovative country
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In the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) recent ranking of the world's most innovative countries,
Switzerland is ranked second, following Japan.
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Thus, Switzerland holds the top position among the European countries surveyed, ahead of Finland (3), Sweden (5),
and Germany (6). The US was ranked fourth.
Two of Switzerland's main advantages are its highly skilled workforce and its willingness to invest in research.
In addition Switzerland enjoys great political stability, invests substantially in the country's infrastructure,
its school system, continuing education and professional training while achieving high levels of productivity.
According to the authors of the study, Japan and Switzerland will retain the top 2 spots during the next four
years. The authors expect that changes are most likely to occur in countries at the bottom of the ranking, for
instance Mexico and China.
The EIU's study is carried out every four years and evaluates 82 economies. The ranking is based on the countries'
innovation output (performance) and innovation inputs (enablers). Performance is measured by the sum of patents
granted by three major government patent offices: The European Patent Office (EPO), the Japanese Patent Office
(JPO) and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The analysis of innovation inputs looks at further aspects
such as availability of employees, political stability and financial support from the government.
Index of Innovation 2009
Top 10 Rankings
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Country |
Rank |
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Japan |
1 |
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Switzerland |
2 |
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Finland |
3 |
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USA |
4 |
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Sweden |
5 |
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Germany |
6 |
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Taiwan |
7 |
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Netherlands |
8 |
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Israel |
9 |
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Denmark |
10 |
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Text – Greater
Zurich Area
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