In spite of the human and economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and enterprises in many parts of the world have increased their investments in innovation.
Scientific output, expenditures in research and development (R&D), intellectual property filings and venture capital (VC) deals continued to grow in 2021, building on strong pre-crisis peak performance.
The Arab countries have their own share in terms of investment in innovations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading from the front.
While the UAE ranks first in top 12 most innovative Arab countries in 2021 and globally it ranks 33rd, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 that tracked innovations through the Covid-19 crisis.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, remained second most innovative country in the region and stood 66th globally, the latest GII report pointed out.
Qatar, Tunisia and Kuwait ranked third, fourth and fifth regionally and 68th, 71st and 72nd globally in term of innovation, it added. For more detail, see the infographic below.
