11/10/2023 3:14 pm (current 11/10/2023 8:17 pm)
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Austria ranks 18th in the global innovation ranking. While Switzerland shines as a leading country in terms of innovation, Austria has a solid but less notable innovation performance.
Austria, the land of mountains and music, is also a land of inventiveness. From the first indoor ski facility to the modern circuit board, our alpine republic has produced an impressive array of innovations over the years. But when it comes to global innovation rankings, the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023 clearly shows that we are in the shadow of our Alpine neighbors, Switzerland.
Small country, big ideas
Switzerland, the small country of big ideas, not only left us behind in the GII, but also leaves us far behind in the Alpine race for innovation. With a proud first place in the GII, Switzerland has mastered the art of innovation like no other country. Meanwhile, Austria is in 18th place, far from the glorious heights of the Swiss innovation scene.
By 2022, statistically speaking, around one in every 1,000 people in Switzerland will have patented an invention. Famous inventions like the Swiss Army knife are just a small part of Swiss inventiveness.
In the shadow of Swiss dynamics
Austria, on the other hand, has a solid but less notable innovation performance. With an 18th place in the GII, Austria presents a robust innovation scenario, which, however, is overshadowed by the dynamism of Switzerland. Despite impressive inventions such as the first electric car, the first indoor skiing facility and Austrian engineer Paul Eisler’s modern circuit board, Austria lags behind Switzerland’s innovative strength.
Switzerland and Austria also show different strengths in several innovation indicators. While Switzerland shines with a high number of patent applications and strong venture capital funding, Austria still has some catching up to do in the areas of technology adoption* and innovation financing.
- *Technology adoption refers to the process by which individuals, organizations or societies begin to accept, use and integrate a new technology.
When it comes to research and development (R&D), both countries perform strongly, but Switzerland takes a leading position here with its highly developed research infrastructure and strong networks between universities and industry.
Global context
The USA, in third place in the GII, and Singapore, in fifth place, are examples of high performance in innovation in different regions. These countries demonstrate a wide range of strengths across various innovation indicators, indicating a balanced and robust innovation landscape.
Income groups
Interestingly, the GII shows that even the lowest-income countries can make significant progress in innovation performance. Countries such as India, Vietnam and Ukraine top the list of lower-middle income countries, showing that consistent innovation strategies can bear fruit regardless of income level.
Top 20 in Global Innovation Index 2023
Austria compared to neighboring countries:
- With a score of 58.8 and a rating of 8, Germany is well placed ahead of Austria (score: 53.2, rating: 18). This shows that Germany is performing better in terms of innovative performance.
- Switzerland leads the GII 2023 and presents an excellent performance in innovation, with a score of 67.6. It is an example of high standards and innovation practices in the region.
- Italy is behind Austria with a score of 46.6 and a ranking of 26, indicating that Austria has a stronger innovation performance compared to Italy.
- The Czech Republic has a score of 44.8 and is in 30th place, which shows that Austria also has a better innovation position here.
- Slovenia and Hungary have scores of 42.2 (32nd place) and 41.3 (34th place), respectively, which once again shows that Austria performs better in the regional comparison.
Comparison with high performance:
- These countries are among the top three in the GII 2023, with scores of 67.6, 64.2 and 63.5. They represent the gold standard when it comes to innovation and are well ahead of Austria.
- These countries with scores of 62.4 and 61.5 also have a higher innovation performance compared to Austria.