Sweden has been ranked as the third most innovative country in the world, a step down from last year, according to the 2014 Global Innovation Index.

Being awarded the bronze medal in the Global Innovation Index (GII) is a demotion from the runner-up position the country held for the last four years, the main reason behind it being a drop in inputs this year.

The report, published by INSEAD, the leading international business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, ranked 143 countries/economies on the basis of their innovation capabilities and results.

Innovation is measured by tallying elements of the national economy which embody innovative activities over seven components: institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.
Sweden were particularly prominent in the areas "Research and development" and "Knowledge and technology outputs", the report stating that the country was "one of the five economies at the efficiency frontier".

Furthermore, according to the GII's depiction of a perfect world for innovation, Sweden would be the country in charge of information technologies, an industry associated with computer hardware and software, telecom equipment and e-commerce.

The top ten innovative countries in the world

1.    Switzerland (Number 1 in 2013)
2.    United Kingdom (3)
3.    Sweden (2)
4.    Finland (6)
5.    Netherlands (4)
6.    United States of America (5)
7.    Singapore (8)
8.    Denmark (9)
9.    Luxembourg (12)
10.    Hong Kong (China) (7)

Read the full story: www.globalinnovationindex.org
www.thelocal.se

Photo: Lena Granefelt/imagebanksweden.se