In this article, we take a look at 20 most advanced countries in the world in 2023. If you want to see more most advanced countries in the world in 2023, go directly to 5 Most Advanced Countries in the World in 2023.
Technology has been the main way that countries have advanced. With better overall technology, countries can produce more goods and services and their overall economy can expand. With better technology such as the internet and computers, living standards for many can also improve.
When it comes to technology, the United States is the leader. The United States was the first to send a person to the moon, the first to create the computer and the internet. The United States is home to many of the world's biggest tech companies such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and the United States is also leading in the most transformative technology of all, artificial intelligence.
In terms of AI, OpenAI, an American company that is backed by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), is one of the leaders. OpenAI makes the popular ChatGPT which has had over 100 million monthly active users in just two months after its launch. Although ChatGPT makes mistakes, many users find the AI useful and the AI will improve even further over time. Given it has invested $11 billion into OpenAI, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reportedly owns 49% of the company. OpenAI also uses Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s cloud business for AI processing and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has incorporated AI into Bing.
In addition to OpenAI, big tech companies like Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) are among the leaders in AI given it has spent a lot of money in artificial intelligence to try to catch up with TikTok in short video. In addition to AI, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the leaders in the metaverse given the company's substantial investments in the area over the past few years. For those of you interested, check out 10 Most Promising Metaverse Stocks to Buy.
As leading American companies innovate, their innovations could help improve the economy of both the United States and the world.
The World's Most Advanced Countries
Aside from the United States, many of the world's most advanced countries in the world are in the West. The West, which includes many countries in Western Europe is pretty developed and many countries have strong institutions and innovative economies. As a result, many countries in the West have fairly high living standards compared to the global average.
Given their economies are also fairly developed, some East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea also rank among the world's most advanced.
In the future, technological advancement could bring further improvements in living standards for both advanced countries and emerging countries.
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Methodology
For our list of 20 Most Advanced Countries in the World in 2023, we used Global Finance's list for the Most Technologically Advanced Countries In The World 2022 with only difference being we ranked the United States as #1 rather than #2.
When it comes to China, the country would rank among the most advanced in terms of technology given its innovative economy but the country has lower income per capita than many Western countries and also some developed Asian countries given a later start in industrialization.
With its methodology, Global Finance left China out of the top 20. There are also other countries that would rank on this list but that were left out due to Global Finance's calculations.
For some countries, we used some indicators and rankings from the Global Innovation Index, which ranks countries based on various innovation measures on an annual basis.
20 Most Advanced Countries in the World in 2023
20. Iceland
Ranking Composite Score: 2.23
Although it might have a population of 372,520 as of 2021, Iceland is nevertheless one of the more advanced countries in the world according to Global Finance. Iceland has a GDP per capita of $68,727.64 in 2021, and the country ranks #14 in the world in terms of the Global Innovation Index 2022's institutions indicator.
19. Hong Kong
Ranking Composite Score: 2.54
Hong Kong is a city in Greater China that is part of the "One country, two systems" policy of China where the city has more independence to a degree than other cities in China. Given it is one of the leading financial centers in the world, Hong Kong has many of the world's latest technologies as well as strong institutions.
18. United Arab Emirates
Ranking Composite Score: 2.55
The United Arab Emirates ranks #18 on our list of 20 Most Advanced Countries in the World in 2023 given its composite score of 2.55 according to Global Finance's list for the Most Technologically Advanced Countries In The World 2022. Considering government investments, the United Arab Emirates ranks highly in terms of infrastructure, ranking #7 in the world on that metric according to the Global Innovation Index for 2022.
17. United Kingdom
Ranking Composite Score: 2.84
The United Kingdom is a developed country with one of the largest economies in the world with $3.131 trillion in nominal GDP in 2021. Although it ranks #17 on Global Finance's list of most technologically advanced countries in the world in 2022, the United Kingdom ranks #4 in the Global Innovation Index for 2022, scoring highly in human capital and research, market sophistication, and creative outputs. The United Kingdom's capital of London is a financial center that has considerable financial market firms based there.
16. Canada
Ranking Composite Score: 2.89
Canada is the second largest country in the world by land area that has a population that has less than one eighth the population of the United States. As a result, Canada has substantial potential in the future even though it is already a developed country, ranking #16 on our list of 20 Most Advanced Countries in the World in 2023.
15. Austria
Ranking Composite Score: 2.97
Austria is a country in Western Europe that ranks #8 in the world in institutions and #9 in the world in infrastructure according to the Global Innovation Index for 2022. Austria has a developed economy that generated $480.4 billion in nominal GDP in 2021 with a population of around 9 million.
14. Belgium
Ranking Composite Score: 3.3
Belgium is another European country that is well developed with a GDP per capita of $51,247.01 in 2021. According to the Global Innovation Index for 2022, Belgium ranks #11 in the world in the business sophistication indicator. Overall, the country is the 14th most advanced country according to Global Finance.
13. Germany
Ranking Composite Score: 3.46
Germany has the fourth largest economy in the world with a nominal GDP of $4.26 trillion in 2021 that makes many high tech products such as luxury cars and quality industrial machinery. One reason for Germany's success is that the country is one of the biggest innovators in the world given research and development expenditure accounted for 3.14% of the country's GDP in 2020.
12. Norway
Ranking Composite Score: 3.53
Norway ranks #12 on our list of 20 Most Advanced Countries in the World in 2023 given its composite score of 3.53 on Global Finance's list of most technologically advanced countries in the world in 2022. In addition to having substantial oil production, Norway ranks highly in terms of institutions and infrastructure according to the Global Innovation Index for 2022.
11. Singapore
Ranking Composite Score: 3.79
Given it is a city state that's a leading financial center, Singapore is highly advanced in terms of technology, infrastructure, and also institutions. While it is the 11th most advanced country in 2022 according to Global Finance, Singapore ranks #7 in the world according to the Global Innovation Index for 2022.
10. Israel
Ranking Composite Score: 3.86
Given it spends the most in R&D as a percentage of GDP, Israel is an innovative country. In 2020, research and development expenditure accounted for 5.44% of Israel's 2020 GDP, ranking the country ahead of South Korea's 4.81% and the United States' 3.45% in that metric for the year.
9. Finland
Ranking Composite Score: 3.89
Finland is another Scandinavian country that ranks among the most advanced in the world. According to the Global Innovation Index for 2022, Finland is among the world leaders in terms of infrastructure, business sophistication, and also knowledge and technology outputs.
8. Netherlands
Ranking Composite Score: 3.9
The Netherlands is one of the largest economies in Europe with a nominal GDP of $1.013 trillion in 2021. Given its composite score of 3.9 on Global Finance's list of most technologically advanced countries in the world in 2022, the Netherlands ranks #8 on our list of 20 Most Advanced Countries in the World in 2023.
7. Japan
Ranking Composite Score: 3.94
Japan has the third largest economy in the world with nominal GDP of $4.94 trillion in 2021 and the country also ranks among the most R&D focused given research and development expenditure accounted for 3.26% of the country's total GDP in 2020. Although it might not be as much of an economic leader as it was in the 1980's, Japan nevertheless ranks among the world's advanced countries today as it still produces many quality vehicles and electronics.
6. Taiwan
Ranking Composite Score: 4.59
Taiwan has a pretty large economy given it only has a population of just 24 million people. In 2020, Taiwan had nominal GDP of $635.5 billion. In 2021, Taiwan imported $36.9 billion from the United States and exported $77.1 billion to the U.S., with advanced semiconductors being one the key exports.
