The Global Innovation Index was launched in Sydney earlier this month.
The report was released in Sydney by Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane to coincide with the 'B20' business leaders' summit -- a lead up event to the annual Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders Summit, in Brisbane, in November this year.
Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Sweden topped this year's Global Innovation Index, while Sub-Saharan Africa posted significant regional improvement in the annual rankings published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Australia rose to 17th in this year's rankings from 19th in 2013.
NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, Professor Mary O'Kane, gave an after-dinner speech at the launch, in which she spoke about Australia's improved position in the index.
However, she acknowledged the difficulties faced by Australia in converting innovation inputs into outputs, compared to innovative economies like the UK, Sweden, Finland and The Netherlands.
The Global Innovation Index 2014 can be viewed here.