The Tel Aviv shoreline. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel has been ranked among the top 10 most powerful and innovative countries in the world in two separate surveys published this week by major American media outlets.

In its survey of the world’s most powerful countries, US News and World Report ranked Israel as the 8th-most-powerful nation based upon its military might, strong international alliances, and economic and political influence. The survey, conducted in collaboration with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the BAV Group, is based upon data collected from some 21,000 people in four different global regions who were asked to associate 80 nations with specific qualities.

In a separate survey, the Bloomberg financial news agency ranked Israel as the world’s 10th-most-innovative country based upon the start-up nation’s spending on research and development as well as its number of publicly traded high-tech companies.

In 2017, Israel ranked second on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) innovation index and 16th on its global competitiveness report, moving up eight positions from 2016 on the WEF competitiveness index and marking the first time that the country was ranked among the list’s top 20 nations.