Spotlight on Switzerland
LAC
Innovation in middle Europe: Switzerland's innovation success lies in superior financial and support systems which allow for effective working.
In the global population stakes, Switzerland is something of a minnow. With around 8.1 million inhabitants, it ranks as the 97th largest country, just behind Honduras and Tajikistan. Take a different set of metrics however and the nation is a great white shark. It tops the United Nations Global Innovation Index and the 2014-15 World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report. Switzerland's 20 scientific Nobel laureates mean it has the most winners per capita, except for a couple of small countries with just one or two prizes. Only Japan has more patents as a proportion of its population. Despite its small size, Switzerland is the world's 15th largest exporter. With innovation so intrinsic to economic prosperity, such impressive performance indicators evoke more than a few envious glances. Switzerland is clearly doing something right when it comes to its investment approach to education, science and R&D. The multi-billion dollar questions are: what is the secret to Swiss success and can it be emulated?