Innovation Union Scoreboard 2013 shows EU more innovative, but gap between countries widening.
Innovation performance in the EU has improved year on year in spite of the continuing economic crisis, but the innovation divide between Member States is widening. While the most innovative countries have further improved their performance, others have shown a lack of progress.
The overall ranking within the EU remains relatively stable, with Sweden at the top, followed by Germany, Denmark and Finland.

Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are the countries that have most improved since last year. Drivers of innovation growth in the EU include SMEs and the commercialisation of innovations, together with excellent research systems. However the fall in business and venture capital investment over the years 2008-2012 has negatively influenced innovation performance. More detailed information is provided in the press release and in the memo.

Who are the innovation leaders in the European Union?

Based on the Summary Innovation Index, the Member States fall into the following four country groups:

• Innovation leaders: Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Finland, all show a performance well above that of the EU average
• Innovation followers: Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, the UK, Austria, Ireland, France, Slovenia, Cyprus and Estonia all show a performance close to that of the EU average.
• Moderate innovators: The performance of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, Hungary, Malta and Lithuania is below that of the EU average.
• Modest innovators: The performance of Poland, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria is well below that of the EU average.

Note: Average performance is measured using a composite indicator building on data for 24 indicators going from a lowest possible performance of 0 to a maximum possible performance of 1. Average performance reflects performance in 2010/2011 due to a lag in data availability.

Background

The annual Innovation Union Scoreboard provides a comparative assessment of the research and innovation performance of the EU27 Member States and the relative strengths and weaknesses of their research and innovation systems. It helps Member States assess areas in which they need to concentrate their efforts in order to boost their innovation performance. In addition, the Scoreboard covers Croatia, Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. On a more limited number of indicators, available internationally, it also covers Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and the US. Every two years the Innovation Union Scoreboard is accompanied by a Regional Innovation Scoreboard.

All European countries: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/archives/ius2013/IUS2013.html

Source, photos:
ec.europa.eu is the official website of the European Commission and part of Europa – the official EU website
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/facts-figures-analysis/innovation-scoreboard/