Abu Dhabi: The UAE has ranked first among Arab countries and 41st worldwide in terms of overall performance on the 2016 Global Innovation Index. The UAE ranked second in the Arab World and 47th globally in 2015.
The Index was released on Monday at a press conference held at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s Global Innovation Index measured the performance of 128 countries and economies in the area of innovation which represents the majority of the global workforce and global GDP. The 2016 index is based on 82 sub-indices which measure innovation in detail and provide a clear understanding of how it drives economic growth and prosperity.
Based on the index, the progress made by the UAE is attributable to its sustainable achievements in innovation inputs, especially the strengthening of institutions and market sophistication.
Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said that innovation is a major pillar in advancing the state’s economic development and is at the heart of good government policies aimed at making the UAE among the top 10 countries in the world on the Global Innovation Index by 2021.
Al Mansouri said that “Innovation is a national approach that requires thinking ahead of the game.” He added that, “The UAE has all the opportunities and potentials to achieve leaps in the field of innovation by adopting and implementing new technologies and standards such as the Internet of Things, a long-term 3D Printing strategy, and an inclusive knowledge- and innovation-based manufacturing strategy.”
Al Mansouri said innovation has become an integral part of the successful performance and competitiveness of the UAE, in terms of both public and private sector activities. He added that these efforts culminated in the launching of the National Strategy for Innovation in 2014 which was followed by the declaration of 2015 as ‘The Year of Innovation.’
The Index shows the UAE ranked first globally in the cost of redundancy dismissal, ease of paying taxes, tertiary inbound mobility and state of cluster development.
Progress in innovation inputs also included a significant improvement in market sophistication thanks to growth in investment and credit. Investments have gone up from a rank of 105 to 55 thanks to market capitalisation that increased from a rank of 73 to 32 as well as total value of stock traded that has gone up from a rank of 51 to 20 and VC deals that went up from 48 to 34.
Gross expenditure on R&D rose from 63 to 48 and knowledge workers have increased from a rank of 57 to 25 increasing the overall innovation input contribution of the UAE.
The value of stocks traded rose from 4.7 percent of GDP in 2015 to 35.9 percent in this year’s index. Market capitalization also rose from 18.2 percent of GDP to 50.5 percent. The domestic credit to the private sector rose from 59.1 percent of GDP to 65.4 percent.
First Five Countries in Innovation Index 2016
Global Rank Country Total Points
1 Switzerland 66.28
2 Sweden 63.57
3 UK 61.93
4 USA 61.40
5 Finland 59.90
The Prominent Five Arab Countries on the Innovation Index 2016
Arab Rank The Country Global Rank
(and change
vs 2015 Index)
1 UAE 41 (+6)
2 KSA 49 (-6)
3 Qatar 50 (0)
4 Bahrain 57 (+2)
5 Kuwait 67 (+10)