i3 - January/February 2019 - 74

Policy

By Izzy Santa

P O L I CY N E WS

 T 

he world's most innovative countries are
resilient in the face of adversity, boast
high levels of entrepreneurship, and offer
their citizens - and business owners - affordable
high-speed internet connections. These trends are
all on display in the second edition of CTA's
International Innovation Scorecard, an assessment
of 61 countries and the European Union (EU).
This year, 16 countries earn
the Scorecard's highest
honor, distinguishing themselves as Innovation
Champions: Australia,
Canada, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Germany, Israel,
Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Singapore,
Sweden, Switzerland, the
United Kingdom and the
United States.
The countries are evaluated on a host of critical
issues: Whether their governments welcome disruptive technologies, including
drones, self-driving vehicles
and sharing economy platforms; how friendly their tax
systems are; how well they
protect the environment;
broadband speed and cost;
human capital; research and
development funding; and
unicorn companies.
What did these countries
do especially well?
AUSTRALIA
Ridesharing services are
now legal in all Australian
territories.
CANADA
Over the last year, Canada
saw a rise in its already large
share of highly-skilled workers and a four percent
increase in the number of
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

GERMANY
Testing of self-driving vehicles is also legal in
Germany, if a backup
driver is present behind the
wheel and can take control
in an emergency.
ISRAEL
Between 2009 and 2018,
Israel became home to four
startups worth at least $1
billion U.S.
LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg is working
with its neighbors to establish an international test
track for self-driving
vehicles.
NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands adjusted
its regulations for recreational and commercial
drone pilots to make them
more consistent and
improved its new business
entry rate by 13 percent.

graduates earning STEM
degrees.
DENMARK
Denmark more than doubled its new business entry
rate to 9.91 from 4.36 per
1,000 people aged 15-64.
ESTONIA
Estonia's capital, Tallinn, is
testing driverless public
transit buses, placing it a
step ahead of most other
European nations.
FINLAND
Over the last year, Finland
welcomed self-driving
vehicles on public
roads, though the vehicles need to provide
Singapore became
drivers the option of
the first country to
taking control.

test self-driving taxis.

NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand set clearer
and more explicit rules for
drone operators and
spurred drone research
at the University of
Canterbury.
NORWAY
Norway issued its first
national drone strategy last
year, laying out plans to create a national test center that
enables drone pilots to
develop their skills and complete a certification program.
SINGAPORE
Singapore became the
first country to test selfdriving taxis.
SWEDEN
In a push to support sustainable transportation innovation, Sweden now allows
testing of self-driving vehicles with a permit and
improved its short-term
rental regulatory framework.
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland supplies fast,
affordable broadband to its
population and spends a
remarkably high portion of
GDP (3.4 percent) on
research and development.
UNITED KINGDOM
After revoking Uber's
license to operate in 2017,
London gave the company
a 15-month reprieve, and
city authorities issued possible future guidelines,
promising movements for
ridesharing.
UNITED STATES
The U.S. cut its top corporate tax rate.
For more information, visit
internationalscorecard.com

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Oliver Burston/Getty Images

Top 16 Most Innovative Countries
http://www.internationalscorecard.com
i3 - January/February 2019

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