Ranked: The Most Innovative Countries in 2023

The Most Innovative Countries in the World in 2023

Which countries are the global innovation powerhouses?

In many ways, the past year has represented an inflection point in technological advancement. Almost overnight, OpenAI’s large language model ChatGPT became a household name and AI was within reach to the masses. 

Yet looking under the surface, innovation is influenced by several unseen factors, from the institutional environment and high-tech exports to research talent and entrepreneurship culture.

This graphic shows the most innovative countries in the world, based on the 2023 Global Innovation Index (GII) put together by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

How is Innovation Measured?

The GII framework uses seven pillars and 80 indicators to assess a country’s innovative strength: Innovation PillarExample Indicators👨‍💻 Knowledge & Tech OutputsPatent applications, Hi-tech manufacturing👩‍🏫 Human Capital & ResearchResearchers per million population, Global corporate R&D investors🧳 Business SophisticationKnowledge-intensive employment, University-industry R&D collaboration📈 Market SophisticationFinance for startups, Venture capital received💡 Creative OutputsTrademark applications, Global brand value🛣️ InfrastructureEnvironmental performance, Information and communication technology access🏛️ InstitutionsRegulatory quality, Policies for doing business

Together, the sum of these pillars produces an overall score for each country. 

Most Innovative Countries in 2023

For the 13th consecutive year, Switzerlandwas named the world’s most innovative country. 

Among the key factors underscoring its rank are its policies for doing business and its scale of patent applications. Its world-class research institutions and skilled workforce are also key ingredients in fostering innovation.

Below, we show the most innovative countries in 2023 across 132 economies: 

Sweden ranked second, rising above the U.S. this year. The country excelled in business sophistication, knowledge-intensive employment, and researchers per capita.

While the U.S. ranked third overall, it saw the highest scores in venture capital received, global corporate research and development (R&D) investors, and total unicorn value. Of the 1,206 global unicorns as of April 2023, the U.S. was home to 54% of the total. 

At fifth overall, Singapore ranked the highest in Asia. As both a financial hub and global innovator, Singapore ranked strongly on government effectiveness, venture capital received, and stability for business. It has the highest venture funding per capitain the world.

Brazil (49th) ranked highest in Latin America, while Mauritius (57th) was the top-ranking country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Most Popular Apps in 2022

TikTok was the most popular app worldwide by downloads in 2022, maintaining its title for the fourth consecutive year. The video platform had 672 million downloads in 2022, with the company also doubling its annual revenue to $9.4 billion according to Business of Apps.

Interestingly, TikTok is the only app from a Chinese company to see this level of success in international markets. And that’s despite being banned from countriesincluding India and, for a short period, Pakistan.

Otherwise, social media apps fill the remaining four of the top five most-downloaded spots. Meta is the most prominent there with Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, while Facebook Messenger tied with the shopping app Meeshu for 10th place.

Meanwhile, Telegram, the cloud-based instant messaging service created with the intent of challenging Facebook Messenger, placed 5th with 310 million downloads. 

AI Apps Are Gaining Popularity, Fast

In 2020 and 2021, many essential business apps including Zoom and Microsoft Teams grew quickly and saw massive success.

While downloads for these apps fell in 2022, many other travel, food, and shopping-centered apps including Google Maps, McDonald’s, and Shein helped fill the void.

However, it was artificial intelligence apps including Lensa AI and ChatGPT were the ones that saw the greatest spike towards the end of last year. Could these same AI-infused apps help lead the pack in terms of downloads for the most popular apps of 2023?