The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) reports that Singapore, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and South Korea are the most competitive and innovative nations out of the 40 nations/regions examined. The study is based on 16 indicators in six categories: human capital, innovation capacity, entrepreneurship, IT infrastructure, economic policy and economic performance. The US ranks sixth, the EU-15 ranks 18th, Japan ranks ninth and China ranks 33rd. In terms of progress, China ranked first, followed by Singapore, the EU-15 ranked 29th and the US ranked last. Based on UNESCO data, Sweden had the highest number of researchers at 12.5 per 1,000 employed in 2006, followed by Japan with 11.0 and Singapore with 9.7. The US ranked fourth with 9.7 researchers per 1,000 employed, the EU-15 ranked 12th with 6.2 and China ranked 19th with 1.5. China had the highest percentage change in the number of researchers per 1000 employees from 1999 to 2006 at 111%, followed by Mexico with 98% growth and South Korea with a 71% increase. The top three countries for corporate investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP, based on 2006 UNESCO data, were Japan, Sweden and Korea. The US ranked fifth and the EU-15 ranked ninth. China had fastest percentage change in corporate R&D for 1999–2006 at 160%, following by Mexico at 129% and South Korea at 55%.

Source: ITIF