The index surveyed 141 economies around the world and used 79 indicators to gauge their innovative capabilities. These indicate that Mauritius (49), South Africa (60) and Senegal (84) are the three most innovative nations in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Kenya (92), Mozambique (95) and Uganda (111) top the rankings of low-income countries in the region.
AT No 7, Singapore was the only Asian country in the top 10 ranking of the world’s most innovative nations, while Malaysia (No 32) and Vietnam (No 52) were among those highlighted as being “innovation achievers” for outperforming their economic peers.
This is according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015, a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policymakers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world. The GII 2015 looks at “Effective Innovation Policies for Development” and shows new ways that emerging-economy policymakers can boost innovation and spur growth by building on local strengths and ensuring the development of a sound national innovation environment.
“Innovation is a critical part of Ireland’s economic recovery and social process, and the Irish Government, academia and industry have been committed to investing strategically in innovative development”.
The U.S. and the United Kingdom are ahead in terms of innovation quality, as measured by university performance, the reach of scholarly articles and the global dimension of patent applications, followed by Japan, Germany and Switzerland. Switzerland topped the list for the fifth year in a row, with the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States rounding out the top five.
Meanwhile, the top-scoring middle-income economies on innovation quality are China, Brazil and India.
The report added that these countries found that technology alone could not achieved the prospective outcomes for their economies.
The eight low-income countries outperforming others in their income group include Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, and Uganda.
A number of low-income economies in sub-Saharan Africa are performing increasingly well at levels previously seen in the lower-middle-income group, according to a press release today by the Global Innovation Index.
Later on November 30, the UAE Federal Cabinet approved the designation of 2015 as the Year of Innovation in a plan to make the UAE a world innovative leader. This has prompted Johan Aurik, Managing Partner and Chairman of the Board at AT Kearney – a global management consulting firm that contributed to the Index – to call for improvements to regulations and legislation that could support innovation down the line.
“With the roll-out of the National Innovation Strategy in late 2014, the UAE government has provided a framework for innovation to flourish even further”.
The figures on licensing and royalties in the GII report relate to the percentage of total trade in 2013 (the last recorded full year for this dataset) that the two combined are responsible for in each country.