#6 Japan

Japan is the place where inventions like Automatic power loom invited by Sakichi Toyoda; Compact Disc player, Sony released the world's first CD Player, called the CDP-101, in 1982, utilising a slide-out tray design for the Compact Disc; Commercial digital recording was pioneered in Japan by NHK and Nippon Columbia, also known as Denon, in the 1960s. The first commercial digital recordings were released in 1971.

Currently Japan has a strong patent output, proportional to its population.

R&D intensity: 4^th

Productivity: 21^st

High-tech density: 20^th

Researcher concentration: 6^th

Manufacturing capability: 15^th

Tertiary efficiency: 27^th

Patent activity: 2^nd

#5 Sweden

The country has to its credit the invention of Micro IP. The technology allows tiny gadgets such as car keys and credit cards to communicate using the Internet Protocols, for which Swedish scientist Adam Dunkels was recognized by American MIT’s Technology Review as one of the top 35 young inventors in the world. And then there is Skype, an Internet-telephoning service that allows low-cost phone calls over the Internet. The company was co-founded by Swedish-born Niklas Zennström. And the above statistics says that the country is making great inroads into innovations and inventions.

R&D intensity: 3^rd

Productivity: 11^th

High-tech density: 6^th

Researcher concentration: 7^th

Manufacturing capability: 49^th

Tertiary efficiency: 21^st

Patent activity: 38^th

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