Chile ranks as Latin America’s most innovative economy

Chile reached position 50 out of 132 nations in the innovation index. The country stands out for the quality of its regulatory affairs and the creation of new businesses, which are related to an increase in the use of the intellectual property system as a percentage of total trade.  

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in collaboration with the Portulans Institute, an independent, non-profit research and education institute, has presented the latest version of its Global Innovation Index 2022. The index measures the main global trends and lists economies according to their performance.  

Chile once again led the ranking of Latin American countries and climbed three places in the global index, rising from 53th in 2021 to 50th this year. The result surpassed the country’s rating in 2019 (51) and allowed Chile to regain its place in the index that evaluates 132 economies from various continents.  

Chile’s institutional strength  

According to the report, Chile stood out for the strength of its institutions, obtaining better results compared to other countries in the region regarding the quality of its regulatory matters. This year’s edition also positively evaluated the percentage of students who finish high school and enter university.  

The country also obtained good results in the growth rate of labor productivity and the creation of new businesses, which are related to the increase in the use of the intellectual property system and trademark applications by residents per capita.  

The report also indicates opportunities for improvement in Chile in its results. These include issues related to the diversification of local industry, as well as financing for start-ups and their scaling. They also include the export of creative goods and information and communication technology (ICT) services, with reference to total shipments.  

How is the region positioned?  

Following Chile, the largest economies in the region, Brazil and Mexico, remained among the top 60 countries in the ranking. Switzerland once again ranked first in the index and the United States second, the same as in 2020 and 2021.  

According to the report’s conclusions, research and development (R+D) and other investments that drive innovative activity around the world skyrocketed in 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they face an uncertain future in the short term, due to the new challenges that have arisen throughout the world.  

«This year’s Global Innovation Index finds that innovation is at a crossroads as we move past the pandemic. While investment in innovation increased in 2020 and 2021, the outlook for 2022 is somewhat cloudy, not only because of global uncertainties, but also because of continued underperformance in innovation-driven productivity. That is why we must pay more attention, not only to investment in innovation, but also to how it translates into economic and social achievements,» stated the director general of WIPO, Daren Tang.  

To find out more about competitiveness, innovation and research and development in Chile, check out the following article and our Business & FDI Reports section.  

Source: WIPO