UAE ascends six places to 41 globally
August 16, 2016: The UAE showed a significant improvement in its innovation standing on the 2016 Global Innovation. The UAE ranked first among Arab countries and 41st worldwide in terms of overall performance on the index, up from second in the Arab World and 47th globally in 2015.
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 index results attributed the outstanding progress made by the UAE this year to its sustainable achievements in innovation inputs, especially the strengthening of institutions and market sophistication. The UAE has one of the best political and legislative environments in the world along with outstanding development in information technology, communications, infrastructure and innovation linkages.
H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said that the remarkable progress made by the UAE on the 2016 Global Innovation Index in leading Arab countries and elevating its global ranking adds to its impressive track record of comprehensive development witnessed under the leadership of H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, his brother, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The Minister added 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 the Golden Jubilee of the Union, in line with UAE Vision 2021.
The Global Innovation Index 2016 report highlights the exploration of the growing share of innovation achieved across global innovation networks. The report also examines the ways by which the innovation can help revive the global economy. Switzerland ranked first worldwide in this index this year, followed by Sweden and the UK.