Germany among the Top 10 most innovative countries for the first time – and a leader in terms of patent applications

Düsseldorf, 22.08.2016 – For the first time ever, Germany is one of the ten most innovative countries in the world. That is the result of the current Global Innovation Index (GII). The GII is published every year by Cornell University, the French Business School INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and evaluates the innovative capability of more than 100 countries. One reason for Germany’s strong improvement in the rankings is the high number of patent applications, which can likely be attributed to the strong inventive spirit present in the country.

Eight of the world's ten most innovative countries are European states. Switzerland was ranked first for the sixth time in a row, followed by Sweden and the United Kingdom. Germany was ranked tenth this year and thus entered into the Top 10 for the first time. Together with Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Germany stands out in particular through its innovative excellence. This is reflected by the quality of the universities as well as by the high number of scientific publications and international patent applications.

“The German economy is strongly committed to research and development”, says Hendrik Bücker, patent attorney at Cohausz & Florack. “With the means provided in this country in the area of intellectual property rights, companies can ensure that their innovations are protected against imitators. Thus, Germany will surely be able to maintain its strong position in this area for the next few years”.