The scientific capitals of the world: Interactive map shows the best and worst countries for innovation based on patents registered, funding for R&D and the number of researchers working
- Six of the top ten nations are European, with the UK sitting in 15th position, between Norway and Singapore
- The US, Israel and South Korea are deemed to be the most innovative nations in the world
- The finished data set revealed the US is the overall runaway winner with a score of 75.07 out of 100
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Global leaders in innovation and science have been revealed and, yet again, the US leads the way.
European countries dominate the top ten but the most innovative three nations are the US, Israel and South Korea.
But, six of the top ten nations are European, with the UK sitting in 15th position, between Norway and Singapore.
Use the interactive tool below to see how your country stacks up against some of the global superpowers.
The list was compiled by engineering firm RS Components, based in the UK, who compiled a list of metrics to gauge the nous of each nation.
RS Components analysed each country across four different areas: number of scientific research papers released, number of patents registered, percentage of GDP spend on research and development and number of researchers per 1,000 people.
Every country was allocated a score based on their figures for each metric with their overall score determining their final rank within the index.
A spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Although there is no single measure that helps us capture scientific progress in one metric, there are a few ways to discover how certain countries are doing in regard to leadership within the scientific sector.
‘Science is constantly adapting and aiming to help cure and combat diseases worldwide and it is clear to see that as a human race we prioritise its success and funding.’
The finished data set revealed the US is the overall runaway winner with a score of 75.07 out of 100.
Israel came in second with a mark of 61.33 but comes when looking at the amount of people in the population working in research.
Every country was allocated a score based on their figures for each metric with their overall score determining their final rank within the index. The finished data set revealed the US is the overall runaway winner with a score of 75.07 out of 100 (stock)
However, it is the world leader when it comes to spending on research and development and the amount of researchers in its population.
It tops the chart in regards of the latter with 17 individuals working in research for every 1,000 people.
South Korea and Japan came third and fourth, respectively, and are the only other non-European countries represented in the top-ten.
Global ‘leaders’, the UK and China, marked surprisingly low on the scale – coming in at 15th and 20th.
China’s rapidly developing innovation sector has been hugely driven by tech advancements from firms such as Huawei.
The analysis revealed that despite the investment and focus, it has less researchers per capita than Argentina – with only two people per 1,000 working in research.