The European Innovation Scoreboard 2024 was published today: Austria was able to defend its top ranking from last year.
Vienna (OTS) – “Since taking office, I have been pursuing the goal of further improving Austria as a science and research location. A milestone now confirms the success of our work: we have achieved a top position with 6th place in the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). This result shows that our research system is attractive and competitive and confirms the lasting impact of our initiatives in recent years,” says Martin Polaschek, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research. “Now we have to consistently continue on our chosen path to success.”
The EU Innovation Leader in 2024 is Denmark, narrowly replacing Sweden, which is in second place, followed by Finland and the Netherlands. The group of “Strong Innovators” is led by Belgium, followed by Austria, Ireland, Luxembourg, Germany, Cyprus, Estonia and France. This meant that Austria was able to maintain its strong 6th place from the previous year. In the period 2017-2024, Austria recorded a growth in innovation performance of +4.6% points.
Austria is above the EU average in ten out of twelve innovation dimensions and remains in first place in the EU country comparison for the innovation dimension “intellectual capital”. Austria was also able to score points with top values in the individual indicators of R&D expenditure in the public sector (rank 2), public-private co-publications (rank 3) and the high proportion of foreign doctoral students (rank 4). These developments show that the long-term, strategic path that Austria has taken with the RTI Strategy 2030 is bearing fruit.
“In order to make it into the top 5, we need a strong commitment to Austria as a location. Our RTI policy must remain growth-oriented. Research, technology and innovation are crucial location factors and the basis of our prosperity,” said Federal Minister Polaschek.
Developments in the global rankings
In a global comparison, the EU as a whole is in 5th place behind South Korea, Canada, the USA and Australia. The innovation performance of South Korea, Canada and the USA fell slightly, while that of the EU and Australia improved. Behind the EU in a global comparison are China, Japan, Brazil, Chile, India, South Africa and Mexico. Both China and India were able to improve by one place each.
The European Innovation Scoreboard is an annual report from the EU Commission on the performance of research and innovation in countries. A country’s performance within the EIS is determined by 32 individual indicators, which are mapped across twelve dimensions.
Questions & Contact:
Lena Wolf
Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research
Minoritenplatz 5, 1010 Vienna
Tel.: +43 1 53120 – 5020
lena.wolf@bmbwf.gv.at