UN: Israel ranked 14th in Global Innovation Index

Israel ranked at 14th by a United Nations' body report called the Innovation Index Report for 2013, local media reported on Sunday. Issued by the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO), the report measures the amount of investment in a country's technological innovation and the results of those investments, indicating whether these investments are worthwhile. Israel has climbed up three spots from last year and resumed the place it was at two years ago. There were sub-categories in the ranking of the report. Israel ranked at No. 3 in the aspect of production of knowledge and technology, following Switzerland and China; and No. 19 in the amount of the country's investment in creating an environment suitable for technological innovation. Israel is also placed No. 1 in the business sector's investment in research and development compared to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "Israel's high ranking in the Index is a source of pride and it sharpens once more the importance of the state of Israel in the global arena," Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday on the report by Israeli news site Ynet. "The high ranking adds up to the purchase of Israeli start-up companies by international technology giants," she added. Last week, chip-manufacturer Intel purchased an Israeli interactive software start-up Omek Interactive for 50 million U.S. dollars. Last month, the internet search giant Google bought an Israeli maps navigation system called "Waze" for 1.3 billion dollars.