The Global Innovation Index (GII) is published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which is an agency of the United Nations. Its purpose is to develop an international Intellectual Property (IP) system.

The Global Innovation Index is based on over 80 indicators of innovative capability including investment in research and development, expenditure on education, and high-tech products among others. One metric is the position of top universities in the QS World University Rankings.

The top five innovative economies in the world are:

1. Switzerland
2. Sweden
3. United States
4. United Kingdom
5. Singapore

Economies are also ranked by income group. The top three countries according to income level are:

Upper middle

1. China
2. Malaysia
3. Bulgaria

Lower middle

1. India
2. Viet Nam
3. Ukraine

Low

1. Rwanda
2. Madagascar
3. Tago

There are serious regional disparities in innovative capacity. The top twenty economies are European, Asian or North American while those in the bottom twenty are, apart from three Central American countries, located in Africa. However, it should be noted that some African countries such as South African, Botswana and Senegal are ranked fairly highly.

Source

WIPO