MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The growth rate of research and development expenditure dropped from 7 percent before the 2009 crisis to just 4 percent in 2014, WIPO indicated, pointing to the economic downturn and slower growth of the developing economies as the reasons for such a situation.
"China’s top-25 entry marks the first time a middle-income country has joined the highly developed economies that have historically dominated the top of the Global Innovation Index (GII) throughout its nine years of surveying the innovative capacity of 100-plus countries across the globe. China’s progression reflects the country’s improved innovation performance as well as methodological considerations such as improved innovation metrics in the GII," WIPO said in a press release.
Switzerland has retained the top position in the rating held since 2015. It is followed by Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Finland and Singapore.
Top 25 includes European, North American and East Asian developed economies as well as Israel.
