Top 5 Most Advanced Countries in the World

4. Switzerland

Switzerland ranks as one of the wealthiest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of $93,457.44 in 2021 in part due to its dedication to innovation. Bettina Rutschi of Credit Suisse explains the country’s innovative culture,

Lacking natural resources, Switzerland has always been forced to innovate. Given the country’s small and highly fragmented internal market, early on Swiss companies also had to look for foreign markets for their goods, and they had to be productive enough to compete internationally. Since the country was largely spared the ravages of the Second World War, it was in an excellent position, with intact, export-oriented production facilities, to benefit from Europe’s post-war reconstruction. Also helpful were Switzerland’s liberal, stability-oriented economic policy and traditional emphasis on hard work, dedication and education.

Along with private industry, the higher education sector plays an important role in Switzerland’s innovative capacity – for example, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) and EPFL in Lausanne. Those two universities are in the top 20 worldwide. The central mandate of Switzerland’s institutes of technology is to promote innovation. Each year, more than 2,000 graduates of master’s degree programs and more than 1,000 PhDs leave ETHZ and EPFL to join the private sector. The two institutes also conduct basic research and partner with the private sector and public agencies to produce successful, market-ready innovations through the transfer of knowledge and technology. They apply for approximately 200 patents every year, and reported 49 spin-offs in 2014 alone.