Since we’re on an innovation and entrepreneurship kick lately, what with our Global Innovation Series and our slow but steady compilation of all innovation hubs and incubators across the world, here’s an easy way to gauge the current state of global innovation, circa 2013 – 2014.

1. The Top 20 Startup Destinations in the World

Given that startups are springing up literally everywhere these days, it’s no surprise that the global consulting firm, Intuit, decided to rank the top hubs in the world. Unsurprisingly, emerging economies occupy a healthy number of the top spots:

Source: “Top 20 Entrepreneurial Hot Spots Around the Globe“, Intuit Quickbooks Blog, 2013

2. Innovation in Central America and The Caribbean

Oft-overlooked because this region is sandwiched between the two behemoths of North and South America, if the 2014 Global Innovation Index is anything to go by, the wide range of innovative capabilities here make Central America and The Caribbean one of the most innovatively interesting areas in the world:

Source: “Infographic: Barbados and Chile Named LAC’s Most Innovative Countries“, NearshoreAmericas, 2014

3. Sub-Saharan Africa:

The African innovation scene is booming like nowhere else; it’s a teeming mass of enthusiastic entrepreneurs, techies and change makers, all compressed into incubators and hubs across the continent. But according to the Global Innovation Index 2014, the most active part is Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for emerging innovators, meaning this is the area to keep an eye on:

Source: “Sub-Saharan Africa: Punching Above It’s Weight“, Global Innovation Index 2014, WIPO

4. Women Innovators in Asia

Activists like Dr. Vandana Shiva have long pointed to women being the cultural and social glue in rural households across Asia (and by extension, the emerging world), and have hailed women as the “future of agriculture“. Women entrepreneurs are making leaps and bounds on the continent, but they’ve still got to face some of the very same issues that have plagued their foremothers for generations:

Source: “Women Entrepreneurs in Asia & the Pacific“, Asian Development Bank, 2013

5. Who Leads the World of Innovation?

The 2014 Global Innovation Index shows that the traditional contenders are still leading the way, but the emerging world is catching up, slowly but surely. We live in especially innovative times, indeed:

Source: “Who is Leading Innovation?“, Global Innovation Index 2014, WIPO

BONUS: The World as One Perfectly Oiled Innovation Machine

And if each country had to play one part in the great big innovation scene, who would do what best?

Source: “In a Perfect World for Innovation, Who Would Do What?“, Global Innovation Index 2014, WIPO

Notice any especially noteworthy trends of your own? Leave us note below.