The business news agency Bloomberg compares the innovative power of different countries every year. In this edition of the “Bloomberg Innovation Index,” Germany managed to bump South Korea from its top spot, which it held for the last six years. Germany scored points most particularly with its number of patent applications.
Germany took a narrow lead in the ranking ahead of South Korea. Third place was taken by Singapore, followed by Switzerland, Israel, Finland, Denmark, the US and finally France in tenth place. The biggest jump compared to last year was made by Slovenia: The country moved up ten spots to take 21st place.
The index considers seven factors. Germany scored the most points with its density of high tech companies, patent activity and value-added manufacturing. In these three areas, Germany ranked third and fourth.
German service sector comes in weakest in the Bloomberg ranking
For its intensity of research and development, Germany took eighth place. With a third of all spending, the automotive industry contributes the lion’s share of German investments in research and development. The leaders in this area are Israel, South Korea and Switzerland.
Beyond the top ten, Germany came in 11th for researcher concentration, 18th for productivity and 26th for tertiary efficiency.