The Economist Intelligence Unit has released its latest world innovation rankings, which show China climbing up the ranks faster than other countries.

But while the emerging markets are moving up the pecking order, the developed world still hogs the top spots. Japan and Switzerland remain first and second respectively.

The report includes innovation predictions for the next five years, and more gains for the emerging world are expected. China, India and South Africa will continue to rise. Even so, Japan, the US and European countries such as Switzerland, Finland, Germany and Sweden are expected to retain their top-ten rankings in 2013.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) measures innovation performance by the number of patents granted to people from different countries by the patent offices of the US, the European Union and Japan. The index also looks at factors that help or hinder the ability to innovate, such as the amount of research and development being undertaken and the technical skills of the workforce.

The report says China surpassed expectations. Between surveys covering 2002 to 2006 and 2004 to 2008, China rose from 59th to 54th position on the innovation index.

Such an improvement would normally take five years, the EIU said in a comment on the findings, and for China to achieve it in two was impressive. One reason for the jump is that China is making a concerted effort to build a more innovative economy by investing heavily in research and development and education, it said.

The survey found that while India has made strides, Russia and Brazil have not.

The EIU said India was advancing at a steady pace. From 58th in 2002-06 it advanced to 56th in 2004-08. In 2009-13, it is expected to reach 54th.

In contrast, Russia and Brazil both lost ground between 2002-06 and 2004-08 and are expected to stay put in 2009-13. Brazil is improving in both patents granted and innovation inputs, but not as quickly as some peers. Russia, however, has seen a deterioration in the both the innovation environment and number of patents granted, the EUI said.

The top three places are taken by Japan, Switzerland and Finland, and these are expected to remain unchanged in 2013.

However, the US is expected to slip from fourth place to fifth in 2009-13. The innovation environment is weakening slightly, with US-government support for academic research and development slipping and the country lagging in the number of graduates obtaining degrees in science and engineering.

The EIU said the economic crisis would weaken innovation performance in the next five years. Its 2007 index forecast a 6 per cent average increase in innovation performance, as measured by number of patents granted, between 2007 and 2011. The EIU now forecasts only a 2 per cent increase on average between 2009 and 2013, as the recession constrains spending on research and development, education and training, and forces firms to focus on their immediate needs.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/05/04/business/business_30101873.php