Technology achievement index 2009: ranking and comparative study of nations

Ranking of 91 countries based on the Technology Achievement Index 2009 (TAI-09) (2009 refers to the year in which most of data collection was carried out.) is reported. Originally proposed in 2002, the TAI is a composite indicator which aggregates national technological capabilities and performance in terms of creation/diffusion of new technologies, diffusion of old technologies and development of human skills. In addition to the overall ranking of 91 countries, rankings in each sub-dimension of the Index are also reported. Comparative analysis of TAI ranking of 56 countries, common to the present and previous study of 2002 under similar conditions, is quite instructive and indicates shifts in technological scenario of these countries even over a relatively short period of 5–6 years. A simple concept based on Standard Deviation approach, as an indication of the technological spread or otherwise, is proposed for the first time. Application of this concept to 56 common countries is reported.