Sweden has once again been ranked #1 on the European Innovation Scoreboard, published by the European Commission. Our innovation friendly environment is one of the things that secured our first place in the ranking.
Among all 28 countries in the European Union, Sweden came out on top when the European Commission published the European Innovation Scoreboard for 2017 this week. Sweden, defending the title from 2016, tops the chart followed by Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands
Sweden’s innovation-friendly environment and attractive research systems are a couple of reasons for the top-ranking. Another great strength is human resources.
There are other rankings for measuring innovation capability on a national level, and Sweden always lands a top spot. Last week Sweden was ranked #2 by the Global Innovation Index, following Switzerland. Bloomberg Innovation Index also ranks us as #2 in the world, after South Korea.
In the High Coast region, and the county of Västernorrland, our innovative skills are shown by the fact that we are frequent patent applicants. 20.8 patent applications in 100,000 inhabitants make us one of the most frequent-applying counties in Sweden.
Helena Elfvendal
Helena Elfvendal is head of communications at High Coast Invest, an investment promotion agency and regional partner of Business Sweden.