Bloomberg has released its seventh annual Innovation Index. It ranks 200 countries by analyzing a range of criteria using metrics like research and development spending, education scores, manufacturing capability and concentration of high-tech public companies.
“South Korea retained the global crown in the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index, though improvements by Germany in research and education brought Europe’s largest economy to near-parity in the annual ranking,” Bloomberg wrote in a recent release. “The U.S. moved up to eighth place, a year after cracks in education scores pushed it out of the top 10 for the first time. Sweden, the runner-up in 2018, fell to the seventh spot. Patent activity boosted the scores for China and Israel, which was a big winner by jumping five spots to fifth overall. The Middle Eastern country surpassed Singapore, Sweden and Japan in the process.”
Bloomberg cites ongoing investments in innovative new ventures that may keep South Korea number 1 next year as well. A number of other high performers were forecasted to hit headwinds that might lower their scores. Bloomberg subscribers can find the full analysis, and a report summary by using the links in the article.
How can you use this innovation data?
Companies seeking funding could use this data to focus their pitches. IT professionals seeking job opportunities in hot innovation markets can use this data as part of their career research and planning.