Innovative Country
According to the Ministry of Strategy & Finance on January 23, South Korea topped the Bloomberg Innovation Index for the fifth consecutive year.
The Bloomberg Innovation Index is divided into seven assessment categories: R&D intensity showing R&D expenditure as % of GDP; Manufacturing added-value; Productivity showing GDP and GNI per employed person; High-tech density showing the number of domestic high-tech companies; Tertiary efficiency showing the total enrollment in tertiary education; Researcher concentration showing the number of professionals engaged in R&D per million population; and Patent activity showing resident patent filings, total patent grants and patents in force per million population. This year’s assessment covered a total of 50 countries.
South Korea was followed by Sweden, which recorded 84.7 points. Singapore jumped from sixth to third with 83.05 points. Japan ranked sixth with 81.91 points, the United States came in 11th with 80.42, and China took the 19th place with 73.36.
South Korea ranked first in the Patent activity category and second in R&D intensity and Manufacturing added-value. However, it ranked 21st in Productivity, the category in which it came in 32nd last year. “The South Korean government will keep trying so that the productivity of the local service industry, which is relatively lower than that of the manufacturing sector, can be improved with time,” the ministry explained.