The six most innovative countries in the world

Switzerland

For the 8th year in a row since 2011, Switzerland remains the world's most innovative country. Switzerland particularly stands out in the fields of innovation, knowledge, and technology since 2012. This year, Switzerland has become a leading creative economy thanks to quality innovation. A lot of improvement was also seen in the fields of human capital and research, and development. The country can boast about producing thousands of highly qualified young professionals every year thanks to its prestigious higher education institutions. Overall, Switzerland remains in the top 50 most innovative countries with an excellent business environment along with its quality higher education system and booming technologies. However, formalities relating to setting up a business, and obtaining credit, remain quite complicated.

Netherlands

Moving up one spot, the Netherlands rank 2nd this year, mainly thanks to its effective innovation policies. The country also performs well regarding knowledge, technology, human capital and research, creativity, education and institutions, as evidenced by its ranking in different sub-indexes. In fact, the Netherlands is praised by various reports for its efficient government and administration. Thanks to its favourable business environment and flexible regulatory framework, the Netherlands is a great place to launch your startup. You will also benefit from a highly qualified and skilled workforce in a productive and innovative setup.

Sweden

Dropping to the 3rd spot this year, Sweden remains one of the world's most innovative countries. It comes as no surprise that Nordic countries like Sweden and Finland are in the top 10. Sweden performs well in most sub-indexes even though it loses two spots in the field of market sophistication. However, it remains in the top 5 for human capital and business sophistication. Sweden also ranks 6th in the creativity sub-index and 3rd for knowledge and technology. You are probably aware of the significance of sustainable development for Sweden, which explains progress in this field. Entrepreneurs looking to set up their business in Sweden will benefit from a relatively flexible regulatory framework and simple paperwork within a vastly competitive market.

UK

In spite of uncertainties brought about by Brexit, the United Kingdom remains one of the world's most innovative countries, ranking 4th this year. In fact, significant improvement has been noted in various sub-indexes including innovation, and business sophistication where it ranks 12th especially thanks to knowledge absorption. The UK also performs well in the fields of investment, creative products and services, market capitalisation, export of cultural and creative services, and publishing and media. While it remains difficult to obtain credit as an entrepreneur in the UK, you can still benefit from quality online government services, given the online participation rate. The UK can also boast about its prestigious universities with many specialising in science and innovation.

Singapore

One of the top destinations for foreign professionals, Singapore also attracts entrepreneurs and investors thanks to its innovative setup. This year, Singapore climbs up two places to the 5th spot. Human capital and research are only some of the country's plus sides. Launching your startup in Singapore means benefiting from a sophisticated market, not to mention the high level of knowledge and research. The City-State provides an excellent regulatory framework along with government efficiency, and a highly qualified and skilled workforce thanks to the quality higher education system. Singapore also performs well in the fields of safety, market capitalisation, foreign direct investment, medium and large scale high tech production and high tech export.

USA

The USA needs no introduction when it comes to innovation. However, the USA drops to the 6th spot due to a slight decline in various sub-indexes including innovation, human capital and research, and higher education. On the other hand, it remains one of the top-performing countries in almost all spheres, namely research and development, the number of patent applications, as well as technical and scientific publications. Launching your startup in the USA means benefiting from market sophistication, high-quality institutions, knowledge and technology along with an efficient regulatory framework, a business-friendly environment, booming technologies, and creativity. It's worth noting that the USA ranks 1st in various indicators like global expenditure in research and development, quality higher education, venture capital operations, gains from intellectual property, export of cultural and creative services, and cluster development.