Estonia is the most innovative economy in emerging Europe, and the 24th most innovative globally, according to the 2019 Global Innovation Index.
The index also reveals that Armenia and Georgia, as well as Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine, are more innovative than expected for their level of development. Lithuania meanwhile, is less innovative than should be expected for its level of development.
Every year, the Global Innovation Index, the result of a collaboration between Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), ranks the innovation performance of nearly 130 economies around the world.
Georgia and Ukraine also feature amongst the leaders of their respective income groups, as does Bulgaria.
Bulgaria placed third in the upper-middle-income bracket (among 34 countries) for innovation, while Ukraine ranked second and Georgia ranked third for economic innovation in the lower-middle-income bracket.
Georgia is highlighted in the report as a country which outperforms in innovation relative to its GDP, and which is catching-up with innovation leaders more quickly than its peers.
Disappointingly, just one emerging Europe city makes the index’s list of the leading 100 tech clusters: Warsaw, in 100th place.
