Swiss secrets for success

In the Global Innovation Index, published by Cornell University, the INSEAD business school and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Switzerland has come in first each year for over ten years. In the period from 2018 to 2022, Switzerland came in third on the global ranking list of all scholarly publications – after the UK and the Netherlands. How does a country with a population of 8.7 million people, divided into 26 cantons, each with its own unique cultural diversity, where four official languages are spoken, and where mountains occupy 70% of the land, manage to achieve such remarkable success?

Switzerland attaches great importance to science and research, providing more funding as a percentage of GDP than the majority of OECD countries. Its funding for research and development amounted to around 3.4% of GDP in 2021. Such spending levels place it among the countries with the highest such percentages. In the OECD, it comes in at 6th place in this regard.

Higher expenditure is not the only reason why world-class research has taken hold so deeply in Switzerland. Excellent international networking, high educational standards, stable political and legal conditions, outstanding infrastructure and societal appreciation make this possible. Many of the universities based in Switzerland are ranked quite high, internationally. Thanks to their achievements in the natural sciences, the two federal institutes of technology (ETH Zurich and EPFL) have earned an excellent reputation worldwide.

Yet most research and development does not take place at public institutions, but rather at private companies. As a sum, Switzerland spends around CHF 24.6 billion on R&D. Private companies finance (73%) and conduct (53%) the largest share.

International research collaboration is also a top priority for Switzerland. In addition to participating in numerous international research organisations and programmes, it cooperates bilaterally with selected priority countries. Switzerland's outstanding international academic networking is indispensable for its top-notch research landscape. The country is home to pioneering international research projects, including CERN.

This article is sourced from https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home.html