The Netherlands is the 2nd most innovative country in the world right now!

In this year’s Global Innovation Index report, the Netherlands has come 2nd place! Hooray! 

What is the Global Innovation Index?

The Global Innovation Index (GII) measures the innovation performances of 126 countries. This includes things such as environmental, infrastructure and business, in relation to innovation. This year they really wanted to hone in on the environmental part (seeing as it’s so damn important!)

The top 10 are the same top 10 for the past couple of years, so some other countries need to catch up! Sadly, we are still just about lagging behind Switzerland. Here is the ranking:

  1. Switzerland
  2. The Netherlands
  3. Sweden
  4. The United Kingdom
  5. Singapore
  6. USA
  7. Finland
  8. Denmark
  9. Germany
  10. Ireland

The Netherlands and innovation

DutchReview has talked a fair bit about innovation in the Netherlands over the past year or so. Especially in relation to the environment (think 3D printed houses, bikes and bike paths). We’ve also discussed the new pieces of architecture coming to modern cities, such as Rotterdam. A lot of these had an environmental mindset, and/or were completely innovative.

We also know that the Netherlands has a new very ambitious plan to cut CO2 production by 95%, which is only going to mean more innovative techniques. All in all, you can tell that we are real leaders when it comes to this sort of thing (and will continue to be). Ahh, who would want to live anywhere else?

What do you think of this great news? Let us know in the comments! Also, while you’re here, please join our DutchReview Facebook group, for more Dutch stuff. You know you wanna!

Feat pic credit: Milestone Project in Eindhoven. Photo: Houben/Van Mierlo architects / TU Eindhoven

Emma Brown
Emma Brown
A familiar face at DutchRevew. Emma arrived in Holland in 2016 for a few weeks, fell in love with the place and never left. Here she rekindled her love of writing and travelling. Now you'll find her eating stroopwafels in the DutchReview office since 2017.

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