JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Israel was ranked among the world's top ten most innovative countries by the United Nations, for the first time, Israeli officials said on Thursday.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued an official statement, saying the UN World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index, an annual ranking of countries by their innovativeness, has ranked Israel at the top ten most innovative countries, out of 129 countries.
The index, which assesses the countries by using some different 80 indicators, will be present on July 24 in New Delhi, the World Intellectual Property Organization said on its website. The exact ranking will be presented only at the event, the organization said.
Israel has been advancing along the ladder of the index steadily: In 2016, it ranked 21st, in 2017 it gained the 17th place, and in 2018 it ranked 11th. This year marks the first time it enters the top ten list.
Each year, the Global Innovation Index focuses on another topic related to innovation, with "the future of health innovation" chosen as the topic of 2019.
The index analyzed the environment that has supported global healthcare innovation over the past decade, including the impact of technological innovation and non-technological innovation. It also examined the role of medical innovation in shaping the future of health services and the potential impact on the economic development of countries.
In 2018, the Israeli government announced a national plan, titled "digital health as a growth engine," in order to boost economic and social benefits of research and development in the field of digitalization of healthcare systems.
The ranking was "another indication of Israel's commitment to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," said the ministry.
The hi-tech industry is one of Israel's main growth engine. The country, widely known as the "Start-up Nation," invests some 1.5 billion shekels (about 424 million U.S. dollars) of government funds in the local high-tech industry per year.
