ABU DHABI: Switzerland, the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States are the world’s five most innovative nations, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015, while China, Malaysia, Viet Nam, India, Jordan, Kenya, and Uganda are among a group of countries outperforming their economic peers.

“Innovation holds far-reaching promise for spurring economic growth in countries at all stages of development,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

The UK, in second place and up from the 10th position in 2011, hosted the global launch of the eighth edition of the GII.

Minister for Intellectual Property and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Baroness Neville-Rolfe said: "The UK has an outstanding tradition in producing the very best in science and research.”

The GII, co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), surveys 141 economies around the world, using 79 indicators to gauge both innovative capabilities and measurable results.

As a whole, the group of top 25 performers remains largely unchanged from past editions.

Some exceptions are: The Czech Republic (24th) is in the top 25 and Ireland (8th) in the top 10 this year. Also, China (29th) and Malaysia (32nd) show a performance.

In terms of innovation quality, the United States and the UK stay ahead of the pack, largely as a result of their world-class universities, closely followed by Japan, Germany and Switzerland. Top-scoring middle-income economies on innovation quality are China, Brazil and India, with China increasingly outpacing the others.

Soumitra Dutta, Anne and Elmer Lindseth dean, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University and co-author of the report, says: "Innovation quality matters. Creating world-class universities and investing in research is essential for staying ahead in the global race for successful innovation."

Bruno Lanvin, executive director for Global Indices at INSEAD, and co-editor of the report, stresses: “In all regions of the world, entrepreneurship, leadership and political will are making a difference regarding innovation.”

The GII 2015 finds that a well-coordinated innovation policy plan with clear targets and a matching institutional setup have proven to be a tool for success.

India remains at the top of the regional ranking of central and southern Asia this year, followed by Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, which has significantly improved its position.

“The GII underlines the steady outperformance of India on innovation relative to its level of development,” says Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “We applaud the new innovation policies put in place by the new Indian government, which are not yet effectively captured by the data used in the GII.”

Central and Southern Asia has yet to reach its full potential: Most countries in the region remain outside the top 100 of the GII.

Overall, innovation remains strong in Europe, with a strong showing of European countries in the top 10.

Johan Aurik, managing partner and chairman of the board of A.T. Kearney, says: “While European countries are leading the index, we see policy concerns in three areas: Adopting more forward-looking legislation for emerging technologies such as autonomous cars, enabling companies to better anticipate new regulation, and improving regulatory harmonization so that standards are more easily adopted and upheld.”

Kai Engel, co-founder of IMP³rove — European Innovation Management Academy and Lead Partner for A.T. Kearney’s Innovation Services, stated: “European regions have developed smart specialization strategies to focus innovation funds; the major challenge ahead of us is their efficient implementation.”

“The UAE continues to be at the forefront of innovation, with government emphasis on diversifying the country’s economy,” said du CEO Osman Sultan.