China broke into the world’s top 20 most-innovative economies as Switzerland retained its number-one spot in the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking published annually by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Now in its 11th edition, the Global Innovation Index (GII) is a detailed quantitative tool that helps global decision makers better understand how to stimulate the innovative activity that drives ecomomic and human development. The GII ranks 126 economies based on 80 indicators, ranging from intellectual property filing rates to mobile-application creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications. Eleven of the top 20 innovating economies come from Europe, including the top three: Switzerland (1st), the Netherlands (2nd), and Sweden (3rd). Switzerland earns the top position in the GII for the eighth consecutive year. It ranked first in various patent and IP-related indicators, as well as second in high- and medium-high-tech manufacturing production. It is among global leaders in R&D spending and quality of local universities. China’s number 17 ranking this year represents a breakthrough for an economy witnessing rapid transformation guided by government policy prioritizing research and development-intensive ingenuity. While the United States fell back to number six in the GII 2018, it is an innovation powerhouse that has produced many of the world’s leading hi-tech firms and life-changing innovations.
