07 Sep Singapore is APAC’s most innovative nation, 7th year in a row

Singapore has retained the top spot as Asia-Pacific’s most innovative nation in the latest Global Innovation Index, seven years back to back.

The annual index – released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Cornell University and Insead – ranks 131 economies according to their capacity for, and success in, innovation. The ranking is based on 80 indicators, including mobile application creation and the ease of starting a business. Rena Lee, chief executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos), said in a statement after the release of the report that Ipos’ digital efforts, which are part of the national digital transformation road map, have been accelerated by Covid-19 and continue to bolster the country’s position as an innovation hub. Besides being fully digital for all of its IP application services since 2014, Ipos has enhanced its mobile app for trademark applications and conducted fully virtual IP dispute hearings, among other things.

Singapore also did well on gender parity with the proportion of female employees with advanced degrees, out of the total employed, moving up 35 spots to take the top position in the world. According to the report, this indicator, in addition to providing a look at the gender labour distributions of nations, offers more information about the degree of sophistication of the local human capital currently employed. On the overall global ranking of the innovation index, Singapore is in eighth place, with the top three positions going to Switzerland, Sweden and the United States.