The Netherlands Ranks in Top 5 of Global Innovation Index 2020

The annual Global Innovation Index ranks the Netherlands No. 2 in the EU

The Netherlands ranks among the top 5 global leaders in innovation, according to the Global Innovation Index 2020 (GII 2020). Released jointly by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the GII 2020’s theme asks Who Will Finance Innovation? A key question is how the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis will impact start-ups, venture capital, and other traditional sources of innovation financing.

According to the GII 2020, the Netherlands is one of the best-equipped countries to develop innovative solutions for the pandemic. Ranking No. 2 in the EU, the Netherlands is joined in the global top 5 by Switzerland, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom.

High rankings in innovation output, digital infrastructure and knowledge absorption

The Netherlands scored highly for sub-rankings in innovation output (4), ICT infrastructure (4) and knowledge absorption (2). The Netherlands also moves up to No. 5 for quality of innovation, which is its highest ranking to date. The country remains in the No. 1 position for IP payments and scores consistently well for regulatory quality, online participation, intensity of local competition, cluster development and university/industry research collaboration.

A sophisticated business environment where innovation thrives

With the Netherlands jumping two spots from 2019 for business sophistication (4) and business environment (5), the GII 2020 affirms the country’s position as a place where business and innovation can thrive together. Fueled by world-class research institutes, supportive R&D tax credits and a number of strategic partnerships between science, industry and government, the Netherlands is a hub for R&D innovation. In light of COVID-19, the Dutch government announced €100 million in bridge funding to support startups and scaleups in the Netherlands.

Online creativity and knowledge diffusion fuel Dutch innovation outputs

According to the GII 2020, Dutch innovation outputs continue to rank highly due to the Netherlands’ strengths in online creativity (2) and knowledge diffusion (5). In particular, the Dutch excel for indicators such as IP receipts, FDI net outflows, ICTs and organizational model creation and country-code top-level domains. The GII 2020 also notes improvements in cultural and creative services exports (9) and patents by origin (10).

Source: Global Innovation Index