The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15 is out. It’s described as an assessment of the “competitiveness of 144 economies based on 12 “pillars” which include institutions, infrastructure, health and education, labor market efficiency, technological readiness, innovation and business sophistication.” Here is the list of the countries that make the top 10 of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI):

1. Switzerland
2. Singapore
3. United States
4. Finland
5. Germany
6. Japan
7. Hong Kong
8. Netherlands
9. United Kingdom
10. Sweden

Looks familiar? It should. The top of the Global Competitiveness Index looks remarkably similar to the top of the Global Innovation Index 2014 (GII) (I wrote about it recently). Here is the top 10 countries from this year’s GII:

1. Switzerland
2. United Kingdom
3. Sweden
4. Finland
5. Netherland
6. United States
7. Singapore
8. Denmark
9. Luxembourg
10. Hong Kong

Admittedly, there are two countries that made the first list, but not the second (Germany and Japan) and there are two countries that made the second, but not the first (Denmark and Luxembourg); other than that, the usual suspects are just trading places a bit, with Switzerland being the number one in both lists.

Do we need any extended comments? No. The conclusion is clear: to be competitive, countries must innovate. A shorter version of the same: innovativeness=competitiveness.