Sweden shines in innovation rankings
Sweden has regained its position as the most innovative country in the EU, and been recognised by the UN as the world’s second most innovative economy for the third time in a row. Meanwhile, West Sweden, with Gothenburg as its regional capital, has topped the EU's regional rankings in several areas, including business R&D investments and collaboration among SMEs.
These were some of the findings of the 2025 editions of the European Innovation Scoreboard and the Global Innovation Index.
The annual European Innovation Scoreboard and biennial Regional Innovation Scoreboard assess innovation performance across the EU. They use an array of indicators capturing various aspects of innovation, including framework conditions, investments, innovation activities and impacts on the economy, environment and the society.
After ceding the top spot to Denmark between 2023 and 2024, Sweden reclaimed the first place in this year’s rankings. The country ranked first in eight of the 32 indicators, including R&D expenditure in the business sector, Cloud computing in enterprises, and Production-based CO₂ productivity.
In the Global Innovation Index 2025, published on 17 September by the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization, Sweden was ranked second of 140 economies - a position it has held for three years in a row. In this year's edition, Sweden was placed behind Switzerland and ahead of the US, the Republic of Korea and Singapore.
West Sweden – a regional innovation leader
At the regional level, Sweden had three regions ranked in the top 10 of the EU's Regional Innovation Scoreboard: Stockholm (1st), West Sweden (9th) and Southern Sweden (10th).
West Sweden, with Gothenburg as its engine, was the overall top performer in three indicators: R&D expenditure in the business sector, Innovative SMEs collaborating with others, and Population involved in life-long learning. The region was also particularly strong in terms of Patent applications and Cloud computing in enterprises.
According to the EU, collaboration among innovative SMEs is an area where West Sweden has shown strong improvement since 2018. Other areas of notable progress include sales of new innovations and employment growth of ICT professionals.
“These rankings highlight the strength of Sweden’s innovation system, both nationally and regionally. The Gothenburg region has a highly skilled workforce, thriving industry clusters, an excellent offering of testbeds and a culture of openness and collaboration. It’s an appealing environment for forward-thinking companies and investors,” says Marcus Scoliége, head of foreign direct investments at Business Region Göteborg, the Gothenburg region’s investment promotion agency.
Five things you should know about Gothenburg and West Sweden
- Västra Götaland, Gothenburg’s county, accounts for 35% of Sweden’s R&D expenditure in the business sector. Investments in the county have more than doubled during the past decade.
- The Gothenburg region has the highest concentration of engineers and natural scientists in Sweden. Engineers and IT professionals are the two most common occupations in the Gothenburg region.
- Testbeds are a cornerstone of Gothenburg's innovation strategy. The region has 60 active testbeds where companies can trial new solutions in real-world, lab and simulated environments.
- Investment promotion agencies in Västra Götaland County as well as Region Västra Götaland collaborate as part of a green transition project to attract and facilitate investments in the region.
- West Sweden has thriving clusters in automotive and mobility, ICT, life science, advanced manufacturing and textiles.
Considering investing in Sweden?
Marcus and our team of expert advisors can help you build long-term success from Gothenburg. We can provide you with insights, advice, practical support and introductions to key stakeholders to help you identify and capture investment opportunities. Our investment advisory services are free of charge and tailored to your needs.