GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2021) Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States are the three economies with the world's largest investments in innovation and research and development in 2021, the ranking issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Monday showed.
"Switzerland, Sweden, U.S., and U.K. continue to lead the innovation ranking, and have all ranked in the top 5 in the past three years," the WIPO said in a statement.
The three leading countries are followed by the United Kingdom and South Korea, the latter of which joins the top 5 for the first time this year. Russia was ranked 45th, right after Thailand and Vietnam.
The WIPO noted that traditionally the annual rating is dominated by a few high-income economies, but such middle income countries as China, Turkey, and India are moving forward and altering the existing landscape.
"This year's Global Innovation Index shows us that in spite of the massive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods, many sectors have shown remarkable resilience - especially those that have embraced digitalization, technology and innovation," WIPO Director General Daren Tang said.
The COVID-19 crisis showed the importance of investing in science and innovation, and made it clear that post-pandemic growth can be boosted by new ideas, the WIPO concluded from the ranking.
