While many believe that the USA leads the world in innovation, with Silicon Valley as the heart of everything, there are other nations that are making an impact. Bloomberg recently conducted a survey of 215 countries to determine their 'Innovation Quotient' and ranked South Korea as number 1 in the world for 2013.
South Korea has achieved phenomenal economic growth over the last four decades, and is now is a position globally that could perhaps only have been dreamed of even ten years ago (world No. 15 for GDP). Now Korea is on the verge of truly breaking into the first world, with the likes of Samsung and Hyundai leading the charge for global market share in their respective industries. These powerhouses are now backed up by a storm of Korean culture proliferation, lead last year on YouTube by Psy's Gangnam Style (first video to hit 1Bn views), and followed up by a myriad of other cultural and content producers (mobile gaming, TV Dramas, K-Pop, etc). Even Korean cuisine is gaining in popularity around the world as all things Korean hit trend status.
Bloomberg Rankings recently examined 215 countries and sovereign regions to determine their innovation quotient. The final universe was narrowed to 110. We have highlighted their top three below. Innovation was measured by seven factors, including R&D intensity, productivity, high-tech density, researcher concentration, manufacturing capability, tertiary efficiency and patent activity.

1. South Korea: South Korea ranked first in Bloomberg's Global Innovation Index. Here is how the country ranked in the determining factors:
R&D intensity: 3rd
Productivity: 33rd
High-tech density: 3rd
Researcher concentration: 6th
Manufacturing capability: 2nd
Tertiary efficiency: 3rd

2. Sweden: Sweden ranked second in Bloomberg's Global Innovation Index. Here is how the country ranked in the determining factors:
R&D intensity: 4th
Productivity: 7th
High-tech density: 5th
Researcher concentration: 8th
Manufacturing capability: 22nd
Tertiary efficiency: 13th
Patent activity: 26th

3. United States:The United States ranked third in Bloomberg's Global Innovation Index. Here is how the country ranked in the determining factors:
R&D intensity: 10th
Productivity: 10th
High-tech density: 1st
Researcher concentration: 12th
Manufacturing capability: 24th
Tertiary efficiency: 37th

To create the Innovation Quotient, Bloomberg ranked countries based on their overall ability to innovate. Seven weighted factors were considered in determining their scores. Of the 215 countries and sovereigns evaluated, 110 had data for at least five of the seven factors. Those countries were included in the final ranking. The most recently available data were used. N/A indicates that there wasn't sufficient data. The factors and weightings:
R&D intensity (20%): Research and development expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product.
Productivity (20%): GDP per employed person age 15 and over.
High-tech density (20%): The number of high-tech public companies -- such as aerospace and defense, biotechnology, hardware, software, semiconductors, Internet software and services, and renewable energy companies -- as a percentage of all publicly listed companies.
Researcher concentration (20%): The number of professionals, including Ph.D. students, engaged in R&D per one million people.
Manufacturing capability (10%): Manufacturing value added as a percentage of GDP and as a share of world total manufacturing value added.
Tertiary efficiency (5%): The number of secondary graduates enrolled in post-secondary institutions as a percentage of cohort; the percentage of the labor force with tertiary degrees; annual science and engineering graduates as a percentage of the labor force and as a percentage of total tertiary graduates.
Patent activity (5%): Resident patent filings per one million residents and per $1 million of R&D spent; patents granted as a percentage of the world total.Adapted from original article on Bloomberg