Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW
Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW

Country reports

The country reports presented here are derived from a publication of the magazine Innovation Manager. They are geared towards entrepreneurs and innovation actors, and contain concise information about current challenges, strengths and weaknesses of the economic and innovation systems of different countries. The country selection includes countries with particularly strong innovation systems,  the fastest growing export markets of Germany, and the major countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The Country reports as PDF files (in German)

Reference: The following reoprts are written in German.

Country spotlight on Belarus

After the collapse of the former USSR, Belarus found itself facing economic dislocation and a loss of sales markets, which led to a sharp drop in production.

Country spotlight on Brazil

Brazil is currently the eighth-largest national economy. By 2050, the nation could rise to fourth place. Agriculture and the mining industry, in particular, along with the manufacturing and the service sector are well developed.

Country spotlight on Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s membership in the European Union and the related structural reforms, as well as the privatization of state-owned enterprises, have contributed to its macroeconomic stabilization and led to high economic growth.

Country spotlight on China

China’s rapid economic growth in recent years was based on the fast development of labor-intensive industries and the export of standardized products with low to medium technical requirements.

Country spotlight on Denmark

After a year of crisis, the Danish economy found its way back onto a path of growth in 2010. Rising exports and investments, along with growing private consumption, provided for a 2.1% growth in GDP in 2010.

Country spotlight on Finland

Due to its strong international focus, the Finnish economy was badly affected by the global economic crisis. Similar to the situation in Germany, they found their way back onto the path of growth last year thanks to a strong rise in exports.

Country spotlight on France

In the last decade, the French economy has succeeded in further expanding its high-tech industries, particularly the aerospace industry, defence technology and the energy sector.

Country spotlight on the UK

The UK is still struggling with the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis. The nation’s economic growth had previously been based on dynamic consumer demand and an expanding financial services sector.

Country spotlight on India

India is one of the so-called BRICS states, which together have accounted for more than a third of the world’s economic growth in the past 10 years. Accordingly, India’s importance as a global economic power has grown considerably.

Country spotlight on Israel

Today, Israel is among the world’s fastest progressing national economies. The nation’s economic growth has been significantly above that of the OECD countries in recent years. Israel has also coped relatively well with the consequences of the global financial crisis.

Country spotlight on Italy

The financial and economic crisis hit Italy harder than other countries. After a decline in the real GDP of 1.3 % in 2008, a severe slump followed in 2009 with -5.3 %. The recovery was modest by comparison (+1.3 % in 2010) and is already losing momentum.

Country spotlight on Japan

Japan is technologically very advanced. Although moderate growth is anticipated again after overcoming the international financial crisis, the growth prospects for the longer term are nonetheless modest.

Country spotlight on Kazakhstan

With 2.7 million square kilometres, Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country, but with approximately 16 million inhabitants, it is also one of the least densely populated countries. The nation is rich in agricultural production and also, above all, mineral raw materials.

Country spotlight on the Netherlands

The Netherlands have long been troubled by what is known as the “Dutch innovation paradox”, which says that while the country produces top results particularly in research and the education sector, the commercialization of these results is less successful.

Country spotlight on Austria

Within Europe, Austria is counted among the regions with the strongest economies, having one of the highest GDPs per capita. Between 2001 and 2008 the annual GDP growth averaged 2.4 %.

Country spotlight on Poland

The collapse of the socialist regime at the end of the 1980s changed the basic conditions for science, research and innovation to a great extent and continues to present Polish politics with great challenges to this day.

Country spotlight on Russia

What bore the Russian economic boom between 2000 and 2008 was, above all, a global rise in the demand for oil and gas, which represent Russia’s most significant export goods.

Country spotlight on Romania

Since the turn of the millennium, Romania has benefitted, above all, from the advantages of being a “catch-up economy” and has established itself as a cheap production country primarily for western European companies by using comparative cost advantages.

Country spotlight on Sweden

The Swedish economy is foreign-trade-oriented with a focus on capital goods exports. Its world market position in this field is very well established and is based on one of the strongest scientific and innovation profiles of all the industrialized nations.

Country spotlight on Switzerland

Switzerland enjoys moderate economic growth, low unemployment and a highly qualified workforce.

Country spotlight on Singapore

Singapore’s development acts like a blueprint for the successful transformation of an underdeveloped region into a national economy driven by innovation.

Country spotlight on Slovakia

Slovakia has now made it through the financial and economic crisis. Since the 2nd quarter of 2009, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been growing steadily again.

Country spotlight on South Korea

South Korea’s dynamic development has brought the country to the forefront of technological development in the last few decades. In the process of catching up, innovations have played an increasingly significant role.

Country spotlight on the Czech Republic

The remarkable openness of the Czech Republic’s national economy meant that the global economic crisis soon spread into the country.

Country spotlight on Ukraine

A large proportion of the industrial core and the existing infrastructure in Ukraine dates back to investments by the Soviet Union. Particularly the east of the country was, at that time, among the most significant regions of the USSR in economic terms.

Country spotlight on Hungary

Even before the financial and economic crisis, economic growth in Hungary was declining. Over the past year, the Hungarian national economy has managed to recover slightly. It will be some time before it is able to get back up to full speed.