Malta ‘moderate innovator’ in EU innovation scoreboard

Malta is one of the EU's "moderate innovators" with a below-average performance in the European Union's 'innovation scoreboard' - the annual assessment of the research and innovation performance of the EU27.

Malta joined Mediterranean neighbours Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and member states Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland in a ranking that sets it below that of the EU27 average.

However Malta and Portugal were described as the "growth leaders" of the moderate innovator states.

Malta's relative strengths were its intellectual assets and economic effects. But the European Commission found relative weaknesses in human resources, "open, excellent and attractive research systems", finance and support, linkages and entrepreneurship, and innovators.

"High growth is observed for new doctorate graduates, international scientific co-publications, community trademarks and knowledge-intensive services exports," the scoreboard report said.

"A strong decline is observed for public-private co-publications and license and patent revenues from abroad. Growth performance in human resources, open, excellent and attractive research systems, intellectual assets and innovators is well above average."

Malta fared better than 'modest innovators' Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia.

Malta had the highest growth, well over 30%, in graduation rates over the last five years for all the EU27. Malta also had at least 20% more women graduates over the country's average.

While almost 80% of EU27 youth has attained at least upper secondary education, in Malta less than 65% of the population aged 20-24 years has attained such education.

R&D expenditure in the public sector for Malta was below half that of the EU27.