European Innovation Scoreboard 2023

European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) Overview

The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) serves as a valuable tool for comparative assessment of the research and innovation performance of EU Member States, European countries, and regional neighbors. Its purpose is to enable countries to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of their national innovation systems and identify areas that require attention and improvement. On July 6, 2023, the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023 was released, providing updated insights into the innovation landscape.

Key Findings of the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023

The performance of EU countries on the scoreboard categorizes them into four distinct groups: Innovation Leaders, Strong Innovators, Moderate Innovators, and Emerging Innovators.

Denmark has emerged as the new top innovator in the EU, surpassing Sweden, which had held the leading position for several years. The other countries within the Innovation Leaders group include Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Strong innovators encompass Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland, Cyprus, and France, all performing above the EU average. Moderate innovators consist of Estonia, Slovenia, Czechia, Italy, Spain, Malta, Portugal, Lithuania, Greece, and Hungary. Meanwhile, Emerging Innovators include Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

It is noteworthy that the distribution of Member States across performance groups remains largely unchanged from the previous year. However, Hungary has made significant strides, advancing to the Moderate Innovator group. On the other hand, France and Luxembourg experienced a slight decrease in performance relative to the EU eight years ago, indicating the necessity for continuous efforts to enhance innovation capabilities in these regions.

Moreover, the European Innovation Scoreboard highlights the narrowing of performance differences among Member States between 2016 and 2023, particularly within the Strong Innovators and Moderate Innovators groups. Nevertheless, a geographic concentration of innovation persists, with Northern and Western Europe being home to the majority of Innovation Leaders and Strong Innovators, while Southern and Eastern Europe host the majority of Moderate and Emerging Innovators.

Regarding global positioning, the EU’s performance has remained relatively stable compared to the previous year. The EU has made progress in closing the performance gap with Australia, while China’s performance level is now comparable to that of the EU.

Methodology

The European Innovation Scoreboard 2023 adopts the same indicator framework as the 2021 edition. This framework comprises 32 indicators grouped under 12 dimensions, including attractive research systems, firm investment in research and development, and utilization of information technologies.

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