The Global Innovation Index (GII) for 2013 ranked Sweden in second place after Switzerland, which topped the charts for the third year running. The United Kingdom took home third place, followed by the Netherlands and the US.

The report, published by INSEAD, the leading international business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, ranked 142 countries/economies on the basis of their innovation capabilities and results.

The report concludes that "despite the economic crisis, innovation is alive and well".

"Switzerland's and Sweden's performances reflect the fact that both countries are leaders in all components (pillars) of the GII, consistently ranking in the top 25," the report noted.

Innovation is measured by tallying elements of the national economy that embody innovative activities over seven components: institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.

The top ten innovative countries in the world

1. Switzerland (Number 1 in 2012)

2. Sweden (2)

3. United Kingdom (5)

4. Netherlands (6)

5. United States of America (10)

6. Finland (4)

7. Hong Kong (China) (8)

8. Singapore (3)

9. Denmark (7)

10. Ireland (9)

The result marked the second time in the space of a week that Sweden finished at the top of a world ranking, after narrowly losing out to Canada in a poll for the country with the best reputation worldwide.

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