Nordics rank high on Bloomberg Innovation Index

Bloomberg has released their annual ranking countries based on their ability to innovate in six equally weighted metrics, and all of the Nordics placed in the top 30.

Sweden ranked highest in 3rd place, with Finland and Denmark in 7th and 9th place, respectively.  Iceland ranked at number 28.

The economies were scored on 6 equally weighted factors including research and development spending, concentration of high-tech public companies, manufacturing, education levels, per capita research personnel, and patents.

While the index was not specifically geared towards startups,  entrepreneurial activity is strongly correlated with the elements that Bloomberg identifies in innovative economies, including the number high tech companies, education level, and research and development spending.

Data does not tell the whole story

As the report states, “This attempt to measure innovation leaves out one important but hard-to-quantify influence: government regulation.”

Administrative burdens and legislation have been cited as red tape by Scandinavian entrepreneurs, as has the “discouraging” capital gains tax.

See the top 50 rankings below and read the full report here.