By the close of 2022, Switzerland stood as the world’s most innovative nation, earning a global index of 64.6 percent and continuing a remarkable streak as the top performer for the twelfth consecutive year. This placement keeps Switzerland at the forefront of the Global Innovation Index rankings, underscoring its sustained advancement across research, development, and knowledge economy indicators, while Russia sat at 47th with an index of 34.3 percent. The comparison highlights a broad gap between leading innovation economies and the rest of the world, a gap that researchers and policymakers monitor closely as they assess a country’s capacity to convert ideas into productive growth. (World Intellectual Property Organization, Global Innovation Index 2022 report)
The report also maps a diverse set of top performers. The United States appeared as the second most innovative nation with an index of 61.8 percent, while Sweden secured a robust third place with 61.6 percent. Other large economies and European nations also featured prominently in the top tier: the United Kingdom posted 59.7 percent, and the Netherlands reached 58 percent, rounding out a cluster of high-performing, innovation-driven economies. Russia, Slovakia, and Vietnam were noted among notable performers in the upper middle range, with Slovakia at 46th and 34.3 percent, the United States at 48th with 34.2 percent, and Vietnam contributing to the broader narrative of rapid catch-up in some regions. (World Intellectual Property Organization, Global Innovation Index 2022 report)
The Global Innovation Index (GII) has been published since 2007 by the World Intellectual Property Organization in collaboration with a global network of academic partners. The index considers a wide spectrum of drivers that influence a nation’s capacity to innovate, including foreign direct investment inflows, the size of the economy, infrastructure quality, human capital, science and technology sophistication, and other related factors. The framework emphasizes not just outputs like patents and publications, but the conditions that nurture inventive activity, such as talent development, supportive policy environments, and the ability to translate ideas into marketable products and services. This holistic approach helps analysts compare innovation ecosystems across countries and identify opportunities for investment and reform. (World Intellectual Property Organization, Global Innovation Index 2022 report)
On September 20, 2022, analysts at Credit Suisse published the thirteenth annual Global Wealth Report, which offered a broader perspective on national prosperity and financial resilience. The report suggested that Russia’s level of prosperity was, in its assessment, approaching an American standard from the early 20th century, with projections indicating continued growth toward parity by around 2026, if historical patterns hold true. While the wealth metric reflects a different axis than the innovation index, the juxtaposition of innovation capacity with wealth indicators helps illustrate how long-term development, capital accumulation, and productivity interact in shaping a country’s overall economic trajectory. (Credit Suisse, Global Wealth Report 2022)