Finland is among the leading countries in Europe for innovative thinking. According to a survey commissioned by the European Union and published in January, slightly ahead of Finland are Sweden and Switzerland. Also featuring among the top EU countries are Denmark and Germany.

The survey compared areas such as countries' education, investment in research and the number of patents applied for. Finland was among the top three, measured by almost all yardsticks. Finland's weaknesses included poor work productivity and the small proportion of young people in the population.

Although those at the top are doing well, EU Member States are, on average, far behind Japan and the United States. According to research, the EU invests about a third less than the United States.

>> The future lies in innovations (28.3.2006)