The most innovative country in the world takes top spot again

Innovation is a key topic at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2017. Watch the Maintaining Innovation session here.

Switzerland has once again topped the table as the world’s most innovative economy, in the latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report.

It is the seventh year in a row that Switzerland has claimed the title. The European nation scores highly on a range of indices, but particularly well for high quality enterprises across sectors that strive for innovation and for commercially applicable products.

Keeping the competitive edge

The 2016-2017 report assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies and ranks them based on several factors.

High scoring countries must have an environment that is conducive to innovative activity and one that is supported by both the public and the private sectors.

This could mean investment in research and development and the presence of high quality research institutions.

The report says that, “In these economies, firms must design and develop cutting-edge products and processes to maintain a competitive edge and move toward even higher value-added activities”

This year’s most notable change is Japan’s drop in the table. Consistently ranked in the top five between 2007 and 2015, Japan moves down three positions and now ranks eighth for innovation.

The role of innovation

Innovation continues to be a crucial building block for successful economies across the globe.

The report says that innovation occurs “in an ecosystem where businesses, regulations, and social norms promote connectivity, creativity, entrepreneurship, collaboration, and the adoption of the latest technologies to generate new ideas and bring new products and business models to market.”