Sweden remains at the top among the EU's innovation countries
The other week, the EU's annual list of Europe's top innovation countries, the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), was published. For the second year in a row, Sweden ranks second on the list, behind Denmark. It is a pleasing position, but there are concerns, says Björn Ekelund, Fellow of IVA and Corporate Research Director at Ericsson.
“As an innovation country, Sweden has a number of strengths that many other countries may not have.”
"We have a good collaborative climate between academia and industry, and between different industrial sectors. We also have a business and corporate culture that is relatively non-hierarchical and conducive to innovation," says Björn Ekelund, who has worked with innovation processes for most of his professional life.
The EU’s Innovation Scoreboard has been published since 2001 and is compiled by the European Commission. It is an annual summary where all EU nations are scored based on 32 parameters that affect their innovation capacity. After many years at the very top of the list, Sweden ranks second for the second year in a row in 2024. Several success factors contribute to our prominent position. Sweden is considered to be at the forefront in the use of information technology, we have a high level of education, attractive research systems, a strong willingness to invest venture capital in innovation and technology development, and many small and medium-sized enterprises with high innovation capacity.
Fewer highly educated people one concern
While Sweden continues to rank highly in many innovation factors, the survey shows that we have lost some of our previous lead on several fronts. One example is that since 2017, Sweden has seen a decrease in the number of new graduates and doctoral students, particularly in the so-called STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
The EU’s summary also shows that we have continued to fall behind in areas where we were already relatively mediocre. Most notable is the assessment that the mobility in the labour market among highly educated or highly qualified individuals in research and technology has dropped significantly since last year. According to Björn Ekelund, these figures must be taken seriously. And there are more potential concerns, he says.
“Behind the strengths that Sweden has, there are technological weaknesses that may not yet have become apparent but could significantly impact our future competitiveness as an innovation country. For example, we are very good at using IT today. But we lag far behind many other countries in terms of cybersecurity and the application of AI."
Decreasing Gouvernment Support for R&D
A factor often highlighted as fundamental to Sweden's future competitiveness as an innovation country is the willingness to invest money in research and development (R&D). This year's innovation survey shows a trend reversal. After several years of increase, the Swedish willingness to invest has decreased since last year, both in terms of venture capital and business investments. At the same time, public sector investments in R&D have continued to decline, from an already low level compared to the investments made by the business sector.
“This is an issue that we in the industry have tried to raise with politicians for several years,” says Björn Ekelund.
In a recent opinion piece in Dagens industri, several CEOs of some of the country's largest and most research-intensive technology companies (including Ericsson) urged the government to show a willingness to increase their R&D investments already in the upcoming budget proposal. According to Björn Ekelund, this does not mean that the business sector wants the state to cover the industry's research and development costs, but rather that the public sector must contribute more to creating the fertile ground needed to conduct competitive innovation and technology development.
“I often talk about creating good soil. This can, for example, involve investing in high-quality education, strong research environments, and infrastructure.”
Excellent prospects if we play our cards right
Although there are clouds on the horizon, Björn Ekelund believes that Sweden has good opportunities to maintain its prominent position as an innovation country, provided we play our cards right. In addition to increased financial ambition from the public sector, a clearer and more long-term national innovation strategy is also needed, according to Björn Ekelund. It is also important to continue to nurture and develop the areas where Sweden already has an advantage over many other countries.
“We have a large number of ‘soft’ strengths in Swedish society that are great assets: everything from an egalitarian and democratic society to our business culture and collaborative climate. And we have a very proud tradition of technology and engineering that we should cherish.”
The European Innovation Scoreboard
The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) is an annual report published by the European Commission since 2001. The report ranks all EU countries based on 32 parameters that affect their innovation capacity. Points are awarded for factors such as availability of skills, willingness to invest, collaborative climate, sustainability efforts, level of digitalisation, and use of information technology.
European Innovation Scoreboard
