Affärslivet

AI & Tech Intelligence · OWID, World Bank

Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index

A free, sourced ranking of 53 economies on AI research and talent — publications, researchers, R&D intensity and high-tech exports. South Korea leads. CC BY 4.0.

TL;DR — South Korea leads the AI Talent & Research Index; strong scores reward research depth, not just volume.

By Affärslivet Research · Published 2026-07-30 · Updated 2026-08-19 · 3 min read · Version 1.0 · CC BY 4.0

Our World in Data · World Bank | 53 entities | 715 words · 11 sections | data: CSV + JSON

78.5/100Top (South Korea)Talent & Research score
116,434Most AI papers (China)scholarly publications
53Economies ranked≥3 of 4 dimensions
4Sweden's rankof 53
4Dimensionspapers · researchers · R&D · high-tech
CC BY 4.0Licencefree to reuse

Executive summary

The Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index ranks 53 economies on the human and scientific foundation of AI: scholarly AI publications (Our World in Data via OpenAlex), researchers per million people, R&D intensity and high-tech exports (World Bank). Each dimension is normalised 0–100 (publications log-scaled) and equal-weighted. South Korea leads. Unlike compute and capital, which cluster in two countries, the research base is more evenly distributed — this is the dimension where mid-sized advanced economies are most competitive. Every figure is sourced and free to download under CC BY 4.0.

“In 2024, U.S.-based institutions produced 40 notable AI models, significantly outpacing China's 15 and Europe's three.”
— Stanford HAI, 2025 AI Index Report · Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI — 2025 AI Index Report · 2025-04

Key findings

0178.5/100of 53 economies

South Korea leads AI talent & research

South Korea combines research output, researcher density and R&D intensity better than any other economy.

Source: OWID, World Bank · 2026 · confidence: Medium-High

02116,434 papersvs 50,810 US

China leads volume, not intensity

China publishes the most AI research (116,434), but talent indices reward the density and R&D intensity where smaller advanced economies excel.

Source: OWID / OpenAlex · 2026 · confidence: High

0353 rankedon ≥3 of 4 dimensions

Talent is more evenly spread than compute

Unlike compute and capital, the research base is distributed across the advanced world — the dimension where mid-sized economies are most competitive.

Source: World Bank · 2026 · confidence: Medium-High

Data vintage — August 2026

Built from OWID, World Bank. Scores are relative to the 53 ranked economies and update automatically as the underlying data refreshes.

The index — AI talent & research capacity

The Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index ranks 53 economies on the human and scientific foundation of AI — combining AI research output (scholarly publications), researcher density, R&D intensity and high-tech exports into one 0–100 score. South Korea leads.

What the data reveals

Research volume and research quality are different races. China leads the world in AI publications (116,434 vs the US's 50,810, OWID/OpenAlex), but strong talent indices reward the economies that combine output with researcher density and R&D intensity — where smaller advanced economies punch far above their size.

The index rewards depth, not just headcount: countries with many researchers per capita and high R&D spending — often the Nordics, Korea, Israel and Singapore — rank near the top even when their absolute publication counts are modest. Talent intensity is the leading indicator of future AI capability.

This is the dimension where mid-sized advanced economies are most competitive. Building frontier models needs compute and capital; building the research base that feeds them needs universities, researchers and sustained R&D — assets more evenly distributed across the advanced world.

By peer group — how the blocs compare

Mean AI Talent & Research score by economic bloc. Asia-Pacific leads on the average measure. Bloc averages reveal structural research strength the country ranking alone hides.

Peer groupMean score
Asia-Pacific55.9
Nordics55.8
G750.8
EU (largest)47.4

Full ranking — 53 economies

Every ranked economy with its composite score and normalised 0–100 score on each dimension.

#CountryScoreAI publicationsResearchers/MR&D % GDPHigh-tech exports
1South Korea78.577.9100.077.059.1
2Israel73.660.1—100.060.7
3Singapore71.570.392.725.597.4
4Sweden60.665.194.154.928.3
5United States59.092.452.052.439.3
6Denmark57.863.893.345.928.3
7Ireland57.559.960.621.987.7
8Switzerland57.267.664.448.748.1
9Iceland56.334.662.839.288.4
10Germany54.779.962.547.628.8
11Japan54.578.459.152.328.1
12United Kingdom54.081.647.139.847.5
13Austria52.762.070.049.329.6
14Netherlands52.469.269.233.137.9
15Finland52.360.487.846.614.5
16Norway52.061.978.626.241.2
17Belgium51.962.163.249.532.8
18China50.7100.022.138.142.6
19France50.275.256.631.637.4
20Malaysia47.869.812.712.496.1
21Australia47.575.148.126.340.7
22Canada46.976.159.325.226.9
23OECD members42.4—47.044.036.1
24Czechia41.255.447.425.936.2
25Greece40.863.055.720.423.9
26Philippines40.457.83.20.4100.0
27Portugal39.962.663.123.710.3
28Euro area39.7—51.333.434.3
29Hungary39.755.948.118.436.5
30New Zealand38.855.857.321.320.6
31European Union38.7—49.933.033.2
32Poland36.564.438.721.421.5
33Spain36.472.338.420.414.5
34Vietnam36.462.28.62.672.3
35Italy36.276.830.018.519.4
36Thailand34.062.116.611.245.9
37India32.992.72.56.429.8
38United Arab Emirates31.965.827.420.413.9
39World31.9—17.238.540.0
40Turkey31.471.227.819.27.6
41Russia30.567.827.711.215.2
42Brazil27.467.39.315.417.5
43Romania24.059.211.24.321.4
44Mexico23.960.14.40.031.0
45Egypt23.564.611.612.55.4
46Indonesia23.074.03.90.413.5
47Saudi Arabia22.872.212.86.30.0
48South Africa19.257.74.55.98.5
49Ukraine19.158.76.01.99.6
50Chile18.551.67.22.312.9
51Argentina17.645.413.75.75.5
52Colombia17.153.20.70.614.0
53Nigeria15.959.50.00.53.6

Limitations & method

This is a transparent composite: each dimension is min-max normalised to 0–100 across the countries that report it, count/magnitude dimensions are log-scaled first, and the score is the equal-weighted mean of the dimensions a country reports (minimum 3 of 4). Scores are relative to the ranked set, not absolute.

It measures what is publicly tracked — undisclosed or sovereign activity is not captured, and equal weighting is a deliberate, disclosable choice. We publish the method and full data so others can reweight or extend it. Nothing is estimated by Affärslivet; every input traces to a named open dataset.

Scoreboard (machine-readable data)

Every headline indicator with its value, period, source and confidence. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.

↓ CSV · ↓ JSON

IndicatorValuePeriodSourceConf.
South Korea78.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Israel73.6 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Singapore71.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Sweden60.6 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
United States59 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Denmark57.8 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Ireland57.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Switzerland57.2 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Iceland56.3 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Germany54.7 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Japan54.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
United Kingdom54 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Austria52.7 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Netherlands52.4 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Finland52.3 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Norway52 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Belgium51.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
China50.7 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
France50.2 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Malaysia47.8 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Australia47.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Canada46.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
OECD members42.4 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Czechia41.2 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Greece40.8 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Philippines40.4 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Portugal39.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Euro area39.7 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Hungary39.7 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
New Zealand38.8 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
European Union38.7 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Poland36.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Spain36.4 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Vietnam36.4 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Italy36.2 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Thailand34 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
India32.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
United Arab Emirates31.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
World31.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Turkey31.4 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Russia30.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Brazil27.4 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Romania24 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Mexico23.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Egypt23.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Indonesia23 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Saudi Arabia22.8 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
South Africa19.2 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Ukraine19.1 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Chile18.5 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Argentina17.6 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Colombia17.1 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High
Nigeria15.9 /1002026OWID, World BankMedium-High

Methodology & verification

The Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index ranks 53 economies on the human and scientific foundation of AI: scholarly AI publications (Our World in Data via OpenAlex), researchers per million people, R&D intensity and high-tech exports (World Bank). Each dimension is normalised 0–100 (publications log-scaled) and equal-weighted. South Korea leads. Unlike compute and capital, which cluster in two countries, the research base is more evenly distributed — this is the dimension where mid-sized advanced economies are most competitive. Every figure is sourced and free to download under CC BY 4.0.

Data dictionary

FieldTypeDescription
countrystringCountry / economy
valuenumberComposite Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index score, 0–100
coverageintegerDimensions reported (of 4)

Frequently asked questions

Which country has the best AI talent and research?

On the Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index — combining publications, researcher density, R&D intensity and high-tech exports — South Korea leads, ahead of Israel and Singapore. Sources: OWID, World Bank.

Which country publishes the most AI research?

China, with 116,434 AI scholarly publications, ahead of the United States (50,810). But raw volume differs from research intensity. Source: OWID via OpenAlex.

How is the AI Talent & Research Index calculated?

Four dimensions — AI publications (log-scaled), researchers per million, R&D as % of GDP, and high-tech exports — each min-max normalised to 0–100 and equal-weighted. A country needs at least three of four to rank.

Where does Sweden rank on AI talent?

Sweden ranks 4 of 53, reflecting its strong research base and R&D intensity. Sources: OWID, World Bank.

Which countries rank in the top 5 of the AI Talent & Research Index?

The top five are South Korea, Israel, Singapore, Sweden and United States, based on the AI Talent & Research Index (Affärslivet, 2026-08-19).

Where does Sweden rank in the AI Talent & Research Index?

Sweden ranks #4 of 53 (60.6) in the AI Talent & Research Index, as of 2026-08-19. Source: Affärslivet.

How many countries are ranked in the AI Talent & Research Index?

53 economies are included in the AI Talent & Research Index (2026-08-19). Full data is free to download as CSV or JSON under CC BY 4.0.

Glossary

AI scholarly publication
A peer-reviewed AI paper, indexed via OpenAlex — a proxy for a country's AI research output. ↗
Researcher density
Researchers engaged in R&D per million people — a measure of a country's scientific human capital. ↗
R&D intensity
Gross expenditure on R&D as a share of GDP — how much of an economy is devoted to research. ↗

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APA

Affärslivet Research. (2026). Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index. Affärslivet. Version 1.0. https://xn--affrslivet-s5a.com/en/reports/ai-talent-research-index

MLA

Affärslivet Research. "Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index." Affärslivet, 2026-07-30, https://xn--affrslivet-s5a.com/en/reports/ai-talent-research-index.

BibTeX

@techreport{affarslivet_ai_talent_research_index,
  title  = {Affärslivet AI Talent & Research Index},
  author = {{Affärslivet Research}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Version 1.0},
  url    = {https://xn--affrslivet-s5a.com/en/reports/ai-talent-research-index}
}

License CC BY 4.0 — free to cite, embed and republish with attribution to Affärslivet. Data also as CSV / JSON.

Sources

Part of Affärslivet AI Intelligence

This report is one part of Affärslivet's source-cited AI knowledge layer. Start with the big picture: