Switzerland, Sweden, and US Lead in Global Innovation, Says WIPO

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Switzerland, Sweden, the US, Singapore, and Britain possess the world’s most innovative economies, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.

Meanwhile, Türkiye, China, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines are recognized as the fastest climbers over the past decade. WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2024 indicates a decline in venture capital activity, R&D funding, and other investment indicators, with R&D expenditures and scientific publications decreasing in 2023.

Daren Tang, WIPO’s head, noted that despite these declines, technological progress remains robust, particularly in health-related fields like genome sequencing, computing power, and electric batteries.

The report highlights a significant softening in innovation investments following a boom from 2020 to 2022, influenced by higher interest rates and a 40% drop in venture capital funding. While technology adoption has deepened in areas like 5G, robotics, and electric vehicles, the growth of green technologies has lagged behind the decade’s average.

The top five science and technology clusters are in East Asia, with Tokyo-Yokohama being the largest globally. Cambridge, UK, ranks as the most S&T-intensive cluster relative to population density.