Europe rides high in 2022 global innovation index

Europe is home to 15 of the 25 most innovative economies in the world, according to the 2022 Global Innovation Index, published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo).

Of these, eleven are EU member states. Non-EU members Switzerland and the UK rank first and fourth respectively, while Sweden is in third place and the Netherlands fifth.  

The US is ranked second position while China is in 11th place, up one on 2021.  

Despite its strong showing, the EU continues to lag behind China and the US for innovation funding. 

WIPO points to another problem, in that productivity growth, which is normally spurred by increased innovation, has in fact stagnated.

“Innovation is at a crossroads as we emerge from the pandemic,” said WIPO director general Daren Tang. “While innovation investments surged in 2020 and 2021, the outlook for 2022 is clouded not just by global uncertainties but continued underperformance in innovation-driven productivity. This is why we need to pay more attention to not just investing in innovation, but how it translates into economic and social impact. Quality and value will become as critical to success as quantity and scale,” Tang said.

 The Top Twenty

1. Switzerland (Number 1 in 2021)
2. United States (3)
3. Sweden (2)
4. United Kingdom (4)
5. Netherlands (6)
6. Republic of Korea (5)
7. Singapore (8)
8. Germany (10)
9. Finland (7)
10. Denmark (9)
11. China (12)
12. France (11)
13. Japan (13)
14. Hong Kong, China SAR (14)
15. Canada (16)
16. Israel (15)
17. Austria (18)
18. Estonia (21)
19. Luxembourg (23)
20. Iceland (17)