Innovation in the Philippines is only at par with Uganda and Botswana, according to a global study released Wednesday.
The Philippines has a rating of 31.2, which is good for 90th place in the 2013 Global Innovation Index published by Cornell University, INSEAD business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
African countries Uganda (31.2) and Botswana (31.1) are in 89th and 91st places, respectively.
The top 10 most innovative nations and territories are:
1 Switzerland 66.6
2 Sweden 61.4
3 United Kingdom 61.2
4 Netherlands 61.1
5 United States of America 60.3
6 Finland 59.5
7 Hong Kong (China) 59.4
8 Singapore 59.4
9 Denmark 58.3
10 Ireland 57.9
In Southeast Asia and Oceania, the 10 highest-ranked are:
7 Hong Kong (China) 59.4
8 Singapore 59.4
17 New Zealand 54.5
18 Korea, Republic of 53.3
19 Australia 53.1
22 Japan 52.2
32 Malaysia 46.9
35 China 44.7
57 Thailand 37.6
72 Mongolia 35.8
The GII 2013 looked at 142 economies around the world, using 84 indicators including the quality of top universities, availability of microfinance, venture capital deals -- calculating innovation capabilities, as well as and research, infrastructure, knowledge, and technology capabilities.
The index is used by businessmen, policy makers, and researchers looking into the state of innovation worldwide.
"Dynamic innovation hubs are multiplying around the world despite the difficult state of the global economy. These hubs leverage local advantages with a global outlook on markets and talent," WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said in a statement.
"For national-level policy makers seeking to support innovation, realizing the full potential of innovation in their own backyards is often a more promising approach than trying to emulate successful innovation models elsewhere."
The 2013 index was formally unveiled to the public Wednesday at the Huawei Technologies facilities in Shenzhen, China, according international current affairs magazine The Diplomat.
"While high income economies dominate the list, several new players have increased their innovation capabilities and outputs. On average, high-income countries outpace developing countries by a wide margin across the board in terms of scores; a persistent innovation divide exists," said Soumitra Dutta, co-editor of the report.
According to Barry Jaruzelski, senior partner and leader of the Global Engineered Products and Services Practice at Booz & Company, underperforming economies can boost their innovation capabilities by developing hubs wherein large companies can play a catalyst role.
"Enterprise champions, including state-owned enterprises, family-owned conglomerates, and multinational corporations, can be the critical drivers of innovation hub activities. These enterprise champions can facilitate the building of hub capabilities and their talent pools by stimulating innovation and by helping to bridge the gap between research and commercial success," he added.
